The Downward Spiral
by PAEC
Summary: Sequel to 'Tales of Love at Magical Land'. Yomi and Tomo are a couple. Finally, they decide to stop hiding thier love from their friends. Will they find acceptance, or will it all come crashing down? M and MA for explicit content later on.
1. A Plan of Action

Hey guys, PAEC here. I've finally decided to write the sequel to my Fan Fiction from a year ago, Tales of Love at Magical Land. Yeah, I've been inspired as of late. But you're probably getting bored here. ON WITH THE STORY:-D 

The Downward Spiral

Chapter One: A Plan of Action

A warm, midsummers day in Tokyo, Japan. Another, in fact. A day like this brought a wonderful feeling of deja vu to the mind of Koyomi Mizuhara, a Second Year in High School. Welcome deja vu indeed, of the fateful day at Magical Land, the day when she had let everything out. Confessed it all. Come out of the closet, come clean, any term one wishes to use. She'd come out about her feelings for her best friend, a friend who she'd wanted more from. All had gone according to plan, or at least the ideal plan. Because on that day, two weeks ago, she'd gotten the one thing she'd always wanted from the person she'd always wanted it from. Young Yomi had found love, and now, she was on her way to meet that special young woman who'd given it to her.

She didn't have to wait long, either. As she took a left, rounding the block to the house she was headed to, the person she was going to meet was already awaiting her on the curb. Tomo Takino, also a Second Year in High School, waited, her face lighting up when she saw Yomi finally come around the corner. The sparkle that lit up in her eyes at the sight of her lover greatly complimented her short, black hair. At least, that was how Yomi felt about it.

"Yomi!" Tomo jogged up to greet her girlfriend, giving her a quick peck on the lips. This was customary for the both of them when they met. A simple show of their affection, the deeper and more powerful stuff was saved for the moments when it seemed appropriate. "So, you said you wanted to talk about something, hun?" Tomo added on the title of her lover in a more sarcastic tone than anything else. Even if this was a serious relationship, Tomo, being the one person to never take anything seriously, tried to make it fun. And Yomi wouldn't have it any other way.

"Yeah," Came Yomi's reply, as she still held the young woman in her arms. The hug slowly slipped, and a moment later the two were just sitting down on the steps leading up to Tomo's home, hand in hand.

"Well, we can't take too long," Tomo said before Yomi could continue on. Spontaneous, as always. Another trait that seemed to make Tomo stand out from the rest of the 'gang' of friends that the two would hang out with. "The others will be waiting for us"

"Actually, Tomo..." Yomi trailed off, before heaving in a heavy sigh, and a second later, continuing on. "We need to"

"...to tell them. Right?" Tomo finished the sentence that Yomi had started. This too was common. One would start the sentence, the other would finish. To the two young girls, it was merely a spiritual showing of their compatibility for one another. Yomi simply nodded, as though she'd been afraid to say it. "I've been considering it too." Tomo continued. She told no lies to Yomi anymore. This was a sincere moment for Tomo Takino. Something completely rare for the normally untamed wildcat High School Girl, as she was self proclaimed. But this time, Tomo too understood the significance. "It's been two weeks, and everytime we're late"

"...they grow more and more suspicious that we're leaving them out of something." It was Yomi's turn to finish. A nod from Tomo told Yomi that she had been completely correct in her assumption. Yomi agreed. "But we have to tell them. There's no big deal. They're our friends, Tomo." Tomo stood up, nodding, a determined look on her face.

"You're right! You're absolutely right. They'll stick with us, no matter what we become!" Tomo was on fire right now. Yomi just chuckled, standing up and placing a comforting hand on the hyper young woman's shoulder.

"That's the spirit." The two smiled at each other for a moment. Yomi continued. "You put it into good perspective for me, Tomo. I don't know why I ever had any doubt." Tomo returned the loving smile, before a sudden shocked expression hit her face.

"Well then, we don't want to have them mad at us from the get-go, now do we? Lets go!" Tomo did an about face, and with her hyperactive bursts, she was off before Yomi could even blink.

"H-Hey! Wait up!" Yomi shouted, before running after Tomo, who would not get very far, seeing as how she was all adrenaline and no stamina. For Yomi, it was the exact opposite, and soon, the two were jogging side by side. At that point, not a drop of doubt existed in either mind, that this next visit with their friends could go wrong. Everything would be alright, it would go exactly according to plan, just as their confession to one another had. But lightning never strikes the same place twice.


	2. Revelations

Hey guys, PAEC here! Not much to say. On with Chapter Two!

The Downward Spiral

Chapter Two: Revelations

"Late late late late LATE! They're always LATE!" The young, short-brown haired high schooler was pacing back and forth. Kagura usually wasn't the one to beat on Yomi and Tomo for being late, but this was sports, something that took a completely different light in Kaguras'eyes. She'd been ranting for the past ten minutes, when Tomo and Yomi were supposed to have showed up at the train station.

"Miss Kagura, please, calm down!" The young, peace keeper of the group, 11 year old, red head Chiyo Mihama, did her best to calm her agitated friend down, though to the other three girls present, it became clear a bit ago that Kaguras' impatience would only end when the two missing friends became present.

"Chiyo-chan..." Sakaki, the tallest of the group, with long blue hair that dangled down to her lower back, spoke with a hint of a laugh in her voice. It was somewhat amusing to her. No matter the odds or the circumstances, Chiyo would always try to restore order. Maybe she was just still as naive as one of her age would be. Or maybe she did understand what she was doing. It didn't matter to Sakaki, or any of the friends, for that matter. Chiyo was who she was, and there was nothing more to it.

"You're just gonna have ta wait, Chiyo-chan." Spoke the next in line. Standing right beside Sakaki, this short, brown haired girl looked almost tiny, as Sakaki was a mountain by comparison. Young Ayumu Kasuga, nicknamed Osaka by the group, to the point that sometimes even she forgot her real name, was only taller than Chiyo on the group, and not by much. The girl who'd moved from Osaka, Japan, to Tokyo a year ago, Osaka was also a kind spirited person, but in her case, it was more out of mental density than anything else. Still, to the friends, a kind spirit was a kind spirit none the less, and Osaka was a prime example.

"She's right, you know." The final friend standing off to the side, she too, had short brown hair, though it was kept more straight than Osaka or Tomo kept theirs. She was a few inches taller than Osaka, and had only become reciently aquainted with more of the people in this group because of her long standing friendship with Yomi. Next to Tomo, Kaorin had probably known Yomi the longest, but even she was surprised of Yomi's tardiness as of late. In the end, though, like everyone else, she'd shrugged it off as nothing more than Tomo's fault.

Around that time, the train pulled into the station, and people began loading on and unloading. Kagura was about to start ranting once again, but was cut off by the Station-Wide Intercom. "The Train first train en route to Osaka has arrived at Platform A, and is now boarding for passengers schedualed to be at the Osaka Dome later today. The train schedueled to arrive at Platform B en route to the same destination has run into railway problems. Please allow five to ten minutes for the next train to arrive. Thank you." Kaguras' mood went from bad to worse rather easily at this point.

"Bah!" She spat, causing a passing by elderly man to nearly jump out of his shirt, "Son of a bitch! First Tomo and Yomi are late, now we're gonna miss our damn train!"

"Well, look at it this way." Kaorin was hoping to be able to calm Kagura down in some way, but things at this point were'nt looking so great. "The other train had some problems. We'll catch it."

"Yeah," Sakaki followed up, seeing what Kaorin was getting at. "We'll still make it to the Buffalos game, don't worry Kagura."

"We damn well better!" Kagura just continued to pace around, mumbling a mixture of obscenities and complaints under her breath. Everyone else just sighed, except for Osaka, who had her gaze fixated on the stairs that lead up into the station lobby.

"There they are." Osaka stated calmly. Everyone else turned to look immediatly, and sure enough, there came the missing two of the group, running up the stairs, sweating decently as they slowed to a panting stop right before the other five, none of whom looked too happy to see them. Sure, before, it'd been simple stuff, like being late to just hang out, but this was more serious. Train tickets to baseball games were not exactly cheap when purchased in bulk packages.

"About damn ti-" Kagura started, but moments later found Sakaki's hand covering her mouth. Sakaki than began to speak herself before Kagura could break free.

"What she's TRYING to say," Sakaki started, sounding somewhat irritated, partially at Tomo and Yomi, but partially at Kagura also, who wasn't about to help the situation anyway. "Is that you two are late. Again. It's been like that since that trip to Magical Land the two of you took."

"We're...we're sorry..." Yomi was bent over, hands resting on her knees as she spoke between heavy breaths. Evidently, the two had realized that, even with their little discussion on what course of action they should take, they had realized that they had both taken WAY too long getting ready. For Tomo, this was expected, as she was usually the one to drag out of bed and take her precious time waking up. For Yomi, however, this was all new, and the group had began to think that Tomo's bad influince was finally starting to rub off.

"W...We just kinda..." Tomo tried to finish the explanation, but didn't get far. Her constant panting made it easy for the others to cut her off.

"You were just late. Again." Kaorin got straight to it.

"Well, it's not like we'll be missing our train, thankfully." Chiyo-chan attempted to bring up something positive to try and change the overall mood to something good. Again, it was just how she was. This comment did bring the mood back up for Tomo, who jumped up instantly, feeling rejuvinated instantly by the situation she thought she understood.

"See?" Tomo, energetic as always, voiced proudly. "We're not late, you guys're worrying over nothin'!" At this point, Kagura finally broke free from Sakaki's grip.

"Wrong!" Kagura was red, though that was somewhat the fault of Sakaki, covering up her nose and mouth for about a minute. Though the star of the swim team could not be so easily suffocated. Tomo looked on with a somewhat comical look of confusion, but nobody was laughing, and Yomi was still breathing heavily. "You're late, alright! You two're just also really damn LUCKY!"

"Eh?" Came the synchronized response of Yomi and Tomo. Kagura looked about ready to burst with anger.

"There are two trains leaving for Osaka." Kagura spoke with an agitated tone in her voice, and wasn't attempting to hide her anger one bit. Kagura never hid her emotions. Sometimes, that fact was beneficial. In other situations, such as this one, it merely had the potential to make a mess of things, though she seemed to be getting her point across. "One, the one at Platform A, just came, boarded, and left. The one schedualed to arrive at Platform B, was delayed, and should get here soon." Reality came over Tomo and Yomi, especially Tomo, who'd just been knocked off of her high and mighty pedistal. Then again, that was something that occured often.

There came a long silence. The group of seven were literally the only people on the waiting platform at this point. everyone had boarded the empty train bound for Osaka. All but them, at least.

What seemed like several minutes passed before the silence was broken, and that breaker came in the form of Yomis' voice.

"Well then..." She shot a quick look at Tomo, who figured she knew what was coming, out of the corner of her eye before continuing on. "I guess this presents a good oppertunity to break it to you all." Almost immediatly, everyone else lost all anger. Concern for their friends took over. Even Kagura, though it took her a moment longer, seemed now more anxious than anything.

"Tell us what?" Osaka stated bluntly. Flat and blunt. That was the only Osaka any of them knew.

"Is everything alright?" Sakaki was the first to check, always being concerned for the well being of her friends before herself.

"Are y'all pregnant?" Osaka said, qith equal bluntness. Everyone just kinda sighed in unison, including Yomi and Tomo themselves, to which Kaorin took notice.

"Wait..." She stammered, thinking she'd realized it. "ARE YOU?" Kaorin had known Yomi for many years, and it would have made her jump out of her skin for something like this to happen to the Yomi she knew. Luckily, or unluckily, perhaps, she was very far from the truth. Tomo and Yomi were quick to disprove that theory.

"No! No! That's not it! Far from it!" The two girls on the defense pleaded, at exactly the same time, before looking at each other and looking back.

"Look," Yomi went on. Tomo figured it better for her to be the one to start into this. You've probably heard one person say about another person, 'She has such a way with words.' Well, one would not find themselves saying this about Tomo Takino, and that was why she chose, at this moment, to be seen and not heard. "We're alright, we're fine. But we don't know how you will take this." The statement brought forth even more curiosity to the likes of Kagura, Osaka, Sakaki, Kaorin, and Chiyo-chan. Yomi just wnet on, knowing that this was going to be hard, no matter how the friends percieved it. Though suddenly, Tomo cut her off.

"You were right about one thing, this DOES pertain to the trip to Magical Land." Said Tomo, in the absolute calmest state anyone had ever seen her in, even Yomi. "We didn't know how to come out and say this, so we didn't."

"But earlier today," Yomi went back to talking. "and this is why we were late, somewhat, we decided that if we let this go on very long, it'd just be worse in the end, so we figured, whatever happens, we may as well get it off our chests."

None of the other five girls said anything. What could they say? They had no leads whatsoever as to what this could mean, not even a guess. Osaka had already covered the pregnancy corner, though truthfully that idea hadn't really dawned on any of them until Osaka had suggested it. No guesses, no ideas, no nothing. All any of them could do was stand there and wait for the final word.Not a one of them had any idea of the shock that was about to go through them.

With one final sigh, Yomi looked at Tomo, who merely nodded. The two were already standing side by side, which helped for the visual that would emphasize this point. Tomo was the first to act, as she put her arm around Yomis' waist and held her. Yomi placed her arm more around Tomos' back, and her hand rested on the smaller girls' shoulder.

"We're in love." Tomo stated flatly. Yomi just nodded. There was no long pause this time, but not exactly the initial reaction Tomo and Yomi had expected.

"Come again?"

"Say what?"

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Is this some kind of joke?" Kagura was the last one to ask. "Tomo, this sin't funny. Our train's going to be getting here soon and-"

"It's no joke, Kagura!" Yomi didn't want to hear it this way. This is how it always was. If something went wrong, or if there was an excuse, anything of the like, the blame always fell on Tomos' shoulders. Yomi was tired of it, even though most of the time, it WAS Tomos' fault, this wasn't a case of the boy who cried wolf. "I'm the one that confessed! I'm the one that has loved her for about as long as I can remember! It didn't feel natural, it didn't feel right at first, but slowly it came around! I made reservations for that trip at Magical Land to confess to her, and I found exactly what I'd been looking for, which was love back! I'm Koyomi Mizuhara, and she's Tomo Takino, and we're girlfriends!" Yomi wrapped the surprised Tomo Takino in a tight embrace to drive the point home. Yomi has guessed that if the word could come from her mouth, it would be believed as the truth that it was.

Unfortunatly, she was exactly right.

Another long pause, as the five other friends stood there, in shock, mouths gaping open as to what they just heard. From Tomo, this could be nothing more than a stupid joke to get her off the hook. But Yomi? She never lied, she never made excuses. She took credit for her good actions, and owned up for her few bad ones. At this point, though, nobody wanted to believe her, even though her credibility made even something like this hard to shake off so easily. Then, after they thought about it a moment, again, though they didn't want to believe what they were hearing, the pieces of the puzzle all fell into place. Since the Magical Land trip, Tomo had calmed down signifigently, Yomi had started picking up habits she'd never had before, and the two NEVER showed up seperatly.

It all made sense, and after about a minute of silence, Kaorin, Sakaki, Osaka, and Kagura understood it exactly.

Chiyo, however, with her usual School Girl mentality, didn't see the possibility.

"But...wait..." She started, breaking the silence. "You're both girls...You aren't allowed to do that."

"Sorry Chiyo-chan, but-" Yomi started, but was taken aback by the two things she saw. Sakaki had now placed her hands over Chiyos' ears, and the four girls except Chiyo were giving the two a death look that meant trouble. Trouble that Tomo and Yomi thought that they would not run into.

The lightning had struck, but not in the same place this time. 


	3. The Nail in the Coffin

Okay guys, something I probably should have mentioned earlier, so here goes. I've seen a few reviews and gotten some Email about Kaorin's reaction to Tomo and Yomi coming out. First of all, Kaorin is not a Lesbian to begin with. I don't have a link, but Azuma himself once proclaimed that NONE of the Characters in the Azumanga Daioh series are Lesbians. That includes Kaorin. Now, I don't know about you, but I think if the creator of the series says something about his series, then that's how it is. She looks up to Miss Sakaki, but the fact of the matter is, she's straight, and I'm writing her that way. And now that that's out of the way, enough of my rambling. Let's get on with Chapter Three!

The Downward Spiral

Chapter Three: The Nail in the Coffin

"Guys..." Yomi had a bad feeling at this point. She'd expected initial shock, followed by the comfort that she felt could always be found in her friends. Tomo felt the same too, and swallowed hard. This was the variable in the equation that they'd not accounted for, and sure enough, it changed everything.

"Don't guys us, you..." Kagura clinched her teeth, not elegance stopping her from saying what she wanted to, so much as the fact that Chiyo-chan was already confused enough as it was. Kaorin just sighed and shook her head.

"I thought I knew you better, Yomi." Kaorin said, no sympathy in her voice at all. Behind her, the Train Scheduled to arrive at Platform B had finally come in, and the intercom was now calling for anyone remaining to board the train to Osaka. "I wonder, if I'd known you longer than Tomo, would it be me you'd be trying to seduce right now?" Then, before Yomi could even say anything, Kaorin turned around and walked away, boarding the train.

"Even ah can't pretend to be okay with this one." Osaka replied next. I'm sorry, Tomo, Yomi, but I just don't believe in that sort of thing." At that point, she too turned around and boarded the train, taking a seat by Kaorin. Tomo and Yomi could see the backs of Kaorin and Osakas' heads, as they'd taken window seats, facing away from the two.

"How you two are content with yourselves is beyond me." Sakaki said. Of the very few times that any of them had ever seen Sakaki cross, this was easily identifiable as the angriest she'd ever been, as far as the girls had seen. "Come on, Chiyo-chan." Sakaki turned around, and ushered Chiyo, who was trying to ask questions, on to the train.

That left only Kagura.

"You dikes!" She said it, and this hit the two of them the hardest. Tomo looked on the verge of tears, and gripped Yomi even closer. It wasn't the fact that Kagura was saying it over anyone else, though that fact certainly didn't make it any easier, but the term itself, rather. The word was used as complete derogatory, nothing more. "We had something going, you two! We were a group! A cliq, one might say. And now you throw it away for each other. I don't believe in lesbianism. Guys go with girls, girls go with guys. You two are not supposed to be this way, and now we have to explain to a child why!" In the background, the train conductor could heard shouting his final calls for passengers. Kagura slowly began to back up toward the train, but her last words would hit the hardest. "You two look at what you've become, and then come to your senses. Until then, you can forget about associating with us!" With that, Kagura turned around and boarded the train, the conductor closing the door behind her.

About a minute later, the train pulled out of the station, and though Tomo and Yomi both had tickets to attend this game, neither of them had moved an inch since Kagura had last spoke. At that moment, Tomo broke down, the tears only flowing slowly at first, but soon that slow flow turned into a proverbial waterfall of tears, as she stuffed her head into Yomis' chest, crying away. Yomi returned the embrace, and just looked on at the now empty train tracks, her mind a total blank. This wasn't how it was supposed to be.

"Wh...what did...we...d...do wrong?" Tomo sobbed through the tears. Yomi didn't answer for what seemed like many moments.

"I don't know, Tomo." Was the best she could respond. She wanted to cry, oh how at that very moment she wanted to cry. But she couldn't. The tough, strong-willed facade that Yomi had always shown would still shine, she was determined on that. She would not show a weakness, and regardless of what happened, she would always be there for Tomo, and Tomo for her. At that point, part of her didn't care about the rest of them. Part of her mind cared for Tomo and only Tomo. Nobody else.

But for that other part, for the other side of the coin in her mind, as well as with Tomo's mind, the downward spiral had begun.


	4. Still Not Out of The Woods Yet

Hey guys. Sorry if the story seems to get a little slow this chapter. I'm the kinda person that has to string damn near everything together. Therefore, Chapter Four might not seem like much, but it puts stuff in place, which is all I'm worried about. I know its gonna pick back up heavily within the next few chapters though, so keep on reading.

The Downward Spiral

Chapter Four: Still Not Out of The Woods Yet

Yomi and Tomo sat silently together on a bench at the Train Station. It had been about an hour since Kagura, Sakaki, Chiyo-chan, Kaorin, and Osaka had left for Osaka, the city, for the Ballgame that Tomo and Yomi were supposed to be sitting at, cheering at, having a good time at right now. Right now with their friends. Or at this point, as far as Yomi had convinced herself, their former friends.

Tomo had merely broken down and cried in Yomis' arms for quite some time. Yomi, on the other hand, had been analyzing this whole outcome, and not a bit of it made sense to her. Over and over in her head, she went through the scenario, even going so far as to venture into the past, thinking back on her friendships of all the girls. Dating back years and years, she could think of no evidence that would have made her think that any of them would have been discriminatory, or, as in Kaorins case, even somewhat homophobic, suggesting that it could have been her.

Yomi sighed. In the past hour, her thoughts and emotions had jumped from that of confusion, to resent, to empathy, to anger, and to sorrow. She could be sure that in one way or another, Tomo was going through the same sort of emotional roller coaster, weather she understood it as well or not had yet to be seen. Either way, neither of them had spoken for quite some time.

A bell chimed once, and reflexively, the two young girls looked up. The large, analog clock atop the loading platform read '1:00 PM'. A sigh escaped from Tomos' lips, which marked the first sound outside of natural breathing that either had heard from one another in what seemed like much longer than sixty minutes. Yomi decided it was finally time to break the silence.

"Well..." She started, leaving a long pause after those first two words. She was the one that had suggested coming out to her friends, and now she had to tread those general waters again, weather she wanted to or not meant nothing.

"I think I know what you're about to get at." Tomo interrupted Yomis train of though. The latter sort of snapped back into reality. There was yet another long pausemas the two simply stared into each others eyes, each noting the hidden beauty. Even though despair and letdown at this point were all over them, each still saw through the other.

Another sign of their care for one another.

"We have to tell our parents." The two said, in absolute perfect unison. They thought the same way, and the evident knowledge of this fact brought a smile to the faces of the two young lovers. But the thought, though both knew it was something that had to be done. A nod from Yomi was the visible confirmation, but overall it was unnecessary, seeing as how well the girls understood one another at this point.

"How do you..." It was Tomos turn to chose her words carefully, but for a moment, she had to stop altogether to think about if this was the time or place for this question. After a few seconds, she decided to ask. "How do you think they'll be?" She finally said, her language a bit chopped up. A few possibilities ran through her mind. Not for her sake, but for Yomis. This was going to be alot easier for Tomo. "I mean, as far as reactions go."

"Well, it can't end up being as bad as what happened with the girls. At least, I don't THINK it could." Yomi countered with a point that Tomo had a difficult time arguing. They'd been thrown completely off of their perch, caught so utterly off guard by the reaction of their friends, that shock had gotten to them. After that, Tomo and Yomi had been brought back down to earth. 'Lightning never strikes the same place twice.' Yomi had muttered earlier. She was absolutely right. The lightning had not hit the lightning rod. Rather, it had roasted the fool practicing his golf swing in the middle of the storm. "Especially not for you, no offense."

"None taken." Tomo retorted, though in truth, she wished Yomi would have not brought that up. Tomo knew her father, a First Sargent in the Army, would have no problem with the fact that Tomo was a lesbian. Since his wife, Tomos' mother, had died when she was very young, Mr. Takino had always been one to allow Tomo her right to live life to the fullest, so long as it was kept within legalities and common sense. Though Tomo usually had trouble following the latter, she pretty much knew that when it was all said and done, her father would support her in any decision she made, and do everything that was needed of him to help her through it. Even if he was away on work half the time, even getting the occasional call to America or Europe with his Platoon, the bottom line was, he was a father that did his best to make the world right for his daughter. Tomo often thought that if this man was any indication of the woman he'd married, she would have loved to have been able to remember her Mom.

Yomi, on the other side of the coin, was just that. The complete opposite. Yomis mother was a religious person who believed in following her values to the book. Her father wasn't exactly the big religion freak that her mother was, but he would almost always give in to her will. Meaning that if Mrs. Mizuhara had a problem with it, Mr. Mizuhara would be no help.

And Homosexuality found no place in Mrs. Mizuharas' values.

Yomi sighed very heavily as the thought ran through her head. "Maybe I shouldn't say that." Yomi stood up, and Tomo took her hand comfortingly. She saw now that Yomi was the one about to breakdown. Not on the outside, oh no. That was something that never did come to Yomi, and maybe never would, but on the inside, she couldn't even begin to fathom the many different things her mother would have planned to say when she learned of what her daughter had become.

"It's okay, Yomi. It'll work out, they'll understand." Tomo tried to sound as caring as she could. For Yomi, it was easy. She cared deeply for her girlfriend, there were no doubts about that. But in such a situation close at hand, Tomo wondered if it really would be okay for her lover. The more she thought about it, the worse the scenario played out in her mind. "They'll love their precious daughter more than whatever God they worship, you-"

"I want to believe that, Tomo, I really do." Yomi stated flatly, not even allowing Tomo to finish, though at this point, both understood they were wasting more and more time. "Either way, standing around here does nothing for us. We need to get this over with." Tomo nodded her approval.

"It would be that much worse if one of the girls got the message to our parents before we did." Tomos logic actually fitting to a tee this time around, and truth be told, she would have been exactly right. "If anything, I want to go into this with the world knowing that the two of us had nothing to hid." Yomi smiled serenely at Tomo, and a moment later, their lips connected. Not a passionate love kiss, but nothing soft either, as the two held for about ten seconds, each getting a small amount of tounge.

"Lets go, honey." Tomo just nodded, and while still holding hands, the two walked out of the Train Station, with smiles on their faces once again. Tomo understood perfectly, as did Yomi. Being around each other made all the pain go away. All the sadness, all the sorrow, all the angst, even so far as physical pain, perhaps, could be conquered by love. Love conquers all. A cheesy cliche to some, but to Tomo and Yomi at that very moment, it emphasized every point of their relationship in correlation to the events that had conspired around it and because of it. Their love could conquer any hardships that attempted to do it harm. At this point in time, Tomo and Yomi were completely assured of that.

But can Love conquer even the beast which corrodes it from the inside? 


	5. The Second Revelation and a Ray of Hope

I know I've only gotten one comment about characters being OOC, and don't get me wrong, I love constructive critisism, but I want to go ahead and cover my view on this. What's your basic definition of a Fan Fiction? A piece of Fiction, written by a fan of a TV Show, series, anime, game, etc. If I wanted to make all of the girls in this series transvestites and make them be Mr. Kimuras Gay Jedi Padawan Learners, I could do it. I wouldn't get alto of good feedback, but if I wanted to I could. All this started off with was a simple YomixTomo fanfic (Tales of Love at Magical Land). Then I though, 'Wait, what if something different happened? What if everyone DIDN'T accept the fact that two of their friends were gay?' So I wrote on it. It's my story and I'm sticking to it. To Defectron, I'm not insulting your opinion of my story, I welcome and encourage it. I just felt that this was an angle of my writing I needed to cover. 

And on with the story. Sorry for not writing lately. Easter Weekend and all that kind of thing.

The Downward Spiral

Chapter Five: The Second Revelation and a Ray of Hope

The walk was longer than it seemed, mainly because of the silence. As Tomo Takino and Yomi Mizuhara walked the streets of downtown suburban Tokyo, neither spoke a word. Everything that needed to be said had been said earlier, back at the train station, and small talk was the last thing on the girls minds at this point. All of their internal focus was on how to break the news of their newfound sexuality to their parents. For Tomo, this was easy. She more or less assumed that her father wouldn't really care. The only thing keeping her from being absolutely positive was the response her 'friends' had given her and Yomi earlier. It'd just gone to show Tomo, and Yomi as well, that anything can happen.

For Yomi, however, the process would be much more difficult. Like Tomos' father, Yomi knew her dad probably wouldn't truly care, feeling that she was old enough to make decisions about her life, and support her One-Hundred Percent of the way.

It was her mother, rather, that worried her.

In the Mizuhara household, Mrs. Mizuhara was in charge of everything. Even Mr. Mizuhara listened to her. It didn't matter what Yomis' dad thought. If her mothers opinion was different, or if her judgment was different, that always took presidence over any decision that her father made. Sadly, that was just how it was, and Yomi knew that that fact would be of no help to her in coming out to her parents.

But both girls had decided. They were beyond the point of no return. They'd come out to their friends, and now, whatever the consequences, their family must know as well. As agreed before, it would be that much worse if word got to them some other way. In the end, this would be the best way to tell them.

But the lesser of many evils is still evil.

They came to a fork in the streets, and stopped, remaining silent. This was the place where the two would usually meet, before walking to school together. If one took the left path, then one would walk about five blocks before finding the Takino Household, which usually consisted of Tomo living alone, her mother being dead and her father being away for Army reasons half of the time. This was the middle, however, of a three month span where he was being reassigned to a different location, and in that time, he'd been home with Tomo. Though the two weren't exactly the closest in the world, they shared an above average father slash daughter relationship. Tomo hoped that that relationship could stand beside her new relationship.

If the same person had instead decided to take the right path, that person would walk about seven blocks before arriving on the doorstep of the Mizuhara Household. While only a one story house, it was still very nice and well kept. Mr. Mizuhara had graduated from Tokoyo University with an Agriculture Major and kept a very nice flower garden around the house. Her mother, Mrs. Mizuhara, had graduated Bible College, and held a PHD in Theology, and almost every part of Yomi knew what that meant for her near immediate future, though a small ounce of hope shined inside of her, she didn't know how much longer she could keep that light from going out. Either way, she knew what she had to do, and would do it.

"Well, I guess this is a bigger choice than it looks." Tomo broke the silence, uttering the first words that either of them had said since departing the train station about thirty minutes ago. Of course, it was not nearly a thirty minute walk from this point to the train station. More like ten. But when the feeling of an impending burden lays upon your shoulders, you tend to take your time getting from Point A to Point B. At least, that was the case here.

"Does it really matter, Tomo?" Yomi countered. Since the two had met at the foot of Tomos' house that morning, everything seemed to have changed. Tomo had gone from the spunky and wild one to the thoughtful one. While Yomi certainly hadn't inherited those latter traits, she had morphed from the thinker to, at least on the inside, the hopeless desperado. Her optimism had been crushed, and she did not see it getting any better. Had Tomo not been there to keep Yomis fire kindled, this story probably would have been over by now.

"I think it does, and I think we should start with my house, because-"

"...because my house will be hellacious when they hear this." Yomi finished the sentence her girlfriend had started. This brought a smile to Yomis face once again, as it did every time. The fact that their minds were seemingly on the same track was a constant reminder to Yomi, and Tomo too, that for their lives, they had defiantly made the correct decision Tomo returned her lovers loving smile, and nodded. With a new found confidence, the two took the left path, and began the walk to the house of Takino Tomo.

Five blocks is certainly not a long walk, and with new found confidence and no more slouching, the two girls had arrived at Tomos' doorstep, the same place they had met earlier that morning, in minutes. Their confidence did not dwindle as the two walked up the steps, Tomo first, Yomi right behind her, and opened the screen door, opened the wooden door, and walked in, Yomi shutting it behind the two.

If one were to walk in the front door of the Takino house, as Tomo and Yomi had just did, that person would find themselves in the family room. Two blue couches, one leather and one cloth, sat facing each other, pushed up against opposite walls. A third couch sat facing a wide screen television, and two reclining chairs on either side of it, tilted in at Forty-Five Degree angles. In the very center sat a brown rectangular table, and small end tables sat to the right of each piece of furniture. The whole setting made for a very nice looking semi-circle set up, and on a whole, the room was probably the most organized in the house, which, looking at the two who lived in it, wasn't saying much, but it was still a very well-kept room none the less.

This was where the two girls found themselves, and hadn't been there for five seconds before the friendly yet stern voice of Mr. Takino sounded off to the two girls.

"Tomo, Yomi!" His voice was deep, that of somebody who'd been used to yelling a lot, and by that token his voice was naturally louder than that of your average person, but that was just aftermath of being in the Army for many, many years. He waited a small moment for a greeting from the two, but then cut them off as his memory kicked in. "Hey, wait, what happened to going to the Ballgame?" He didn't offer up any of his own suggestions, he never did. He found it helped to keep his daughter from lying to him, by giving her no openings outside of the direct question he had and the answer he wanted for it. Though on this day, he was in no danger of being lied to. Tomo took a deep breath and let out a long sigh, a final preparation for the news she was about to bear.

"No problem, sir." She'd been raised to address him with proper respect. Calling her father 'sir' was something she'd not forgotten to do since she was six years old, and she was not likely to forget again anytime soon. "Well, kind of..." She struggled for the words. In her mind, this was a lot easier. But now that it was actually happening, finding the words to say this just right was a challenge. The silence was uneasy, and Yomis eyes began to dart around the room. Mr. Takino folded up his paper and sat it in front of him on the table, and reaching for a bottle that was halfway full of some brownish substance. He took the lid off of the bottle before he spoke.

"No problem, yet it is a problem?" He said in a half sarcastic tone. "You'll have to make up your mind if you want me to help." He leaned forward and spat into the bottle, a small amount of brown juice coming out and slowly flowing down the side of the bottle. Even though her father was madly addicted to Chewing Tobacco, he made it clear that if he had ever caught Tomo with any dip in, he would 'kick her ass until she begged for him to stop so she could wash her mouth out', in his own words. Tomo understood completely, rather than seeing him as a hypocrite as others might have. Tomo had come to the conclusion that, in the army, you will eventually become an addict of one of three things. Smoking. Chewing Tobacco, or Alcohol. Tomo was personally thankful that it wasn't drinking her father had become addicted to, and thereby didn't question anything else he did. "Though I will say," he continued after screwing the lid back on the bottle. "If it's one of those girl talks, I may not be the best person to go to, though I'll try my damnedest."

"It is a girl thing, sir, but not in the way you'd expect." Tomo stated flatly. At this point, Yomi moved over and caught Tomo into an embrace, which was quickly returned by Tomo. "Sir, Yomi and I are in love." It had unfolded before Tomos' father the same way it had unfolded in front of Kagura, Sakaki, Osaka, Kaorin, and Chiyo. The silence this time, however, was short, and merely greeted by an arched eyebrow, curtosy of Mr. Takino. He unscrewed the lid off of the bottle, this time sticking his finger into his mouth to sweep out the small amount of actual dry crew that was left, and sat the bottle off to the side, meaning to throw it away later. He stood up from the couch he was on and moved over to the couch on the far right, motioning for the girls to sit where he had just sat. They quickly did so, moving from a hug to merely holding each others hands. When everyone was situated, Mr. Takino cleared his throat, and began to speak.

"Now then, it sounds like you two have a story to tell. Tomo, you know not to keep anything from me, so I expect to hear the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." He leaned back into the couch and propped his feet up on the table. "I'm listening."

And so the story was told. Yomi recalled first, telling about how her invitation of Tomo to Magical Land had been her plan to find the perfect place to confess her feelings to Tomo, and about how it had worked. Tomo took up next, explaining that the recent change in the habits of both girls had been due to this newfound love, and how they had successfully kept the secret for two weeks.

When it came to the point of what had happened that day, there was no set person to tell it. Tomo would start a sentence, Yomi would finish. One would be talking, the other would add in quick details. Either way, collectively, the story was told in detail, neither girl having anything to hide at this point.

"...and then we came here, and that's pretty much how it happened." Yomi finished the tale, and once again, the silence was short lived. Mr. Takino simply nodded. He leaned back forward, stretching his arms, cracking his neck to either side, before he once again cleared his throat, as he seemed to do every time he spoke.

"Okay, and this is everything?" He looked his daughter in the eyes and questioned her.

"Yes sir." Came the respectful reply from Tomo. No matter what followed, she would always see him as her father, and always would address him as she was taught.

"You've left no relevant detail out?"

"No sir."

"And you, Yomi?" He looked at the other young woman in the room.

"She's telling the truth, sir." Yomi felt that she should be giving out the same kind of respect here. Anything that didn't give him a reason to go off was beneficial in this situation. Mr. Takino nodded again.

"Alright, then here's my two cents on it. I didn't interrupt you during your story, so like it or not, you get to hear my opinion on this." He paused, and those words didn't sound good to either Tomo or Yomi. Fortunately, this was the first time that day that they would be pleasantly surprised. "It is not my place to tell you this is something you can't do. Your gonna be a Senior in High School, Tomo. I'd like to think you're old enough to start making your own decisions Yomi, you're not mine, but you've hung around here so much, I'd like to think that I know you well enough to say the same."

"Thank you." Yomi bowed while sitting. Both girls had expressions of hope on their faces. Finally, something was going their way.

"No problem. That being said, I would gladly support you two. If you two think this is what is best for you two, or what you want, then I'll be right there beside you." That was it, that was something they'd finally wanted to hear. It wasn't all in vain after-all. "However..." They should've known it wouldn't be that easy.

"However?" The girls said in Unison. They were dreading this. Why could Tomos' father not have finished there?

"However, it turns out I cannot." He held up a hand to silence the questions he knew were coming. "I got a letter today. I'm being sent back to America, and I have to head out tomorrow. It's a long term reassignment. I'll be stationed in four different cities over the next Two Years. Tomo, this should be nothing new to you."

"It's not, sir." Tomo sighed. This would mean he couldn't support them, even though she knew he wanted to.

"However however." He said to jokingly contradict himself. "The two of you are welcome to this house anytime you want. Tomo, you already know that since I can't be here half of the time, bills are drawn from my Military Check, which at my rank is a rather large sum. Now that doesn't mean that you two can take advantage of that, it just means you can call this your home. Anything new you want to buy that would require bills, the money will have to come from you two. As for what we already have, it's already covered, and will stay that way." He finished, and Tomo and Yomi did indeed look pleased. "Now then, did that brighten your alls day any?"

"Yes sir!" Again, their reply was in unison. Mr. Takino smiled.

"Well, good." He stood up. "Now then, I imagine y'all are hungry. Want to come help me cook up some lunch?" The answer almost came out as the affirmative, but then, they remembered. Tomo and Yomi likewise stood up, bowing respectfully.

"We'd love to, sir," Tomo started. "But now we have another set of parents to tell." Mr. Takino didn't quite look as happy as the girls did now.

"You're going to tell Koyomi Senior?" He stated, referring to Yomis mother, whom she was named after. Her technical name was Koyomi Mizuhara Jr, but seeing as how she went by the nickname 'Yomi', that technicality never came into play.

"Yes sir, we are." Yomi sighed halfway, trying to keep the hope alive. Mr. Takino caught this, and silenced himself.

"I see, well, good luck with that girls. Remember, you two are always welcome here." He smiled, and the gesture caused Yomi and Tomo to smile back, as they once again bowed.

"Thank you very much, sir." For the third time, they had spoken at the same time. With that, the two laced the fingers of their hands, and walked out the door, this new ray of hope finally present. Maybe Yomis' parents would be the same way. I mean, they had living proof now, that not everyone would hate them. As they walked back in the direction of the fork in the path, the two had almost reassured themselves that Yomis' parents would react in the same way Tomos' dad would. It happened once against small odds, maybe it could happen again against bigger odds.

Somebody should have taught these girls why lightning never strikes the same place twice in a row.

Authors note: I was doing my best to keep the parents unnamed, but in this situation, I didn't see a way I could keep her nameless without excluding the Dialog from Tomos' dad. So for this fan fiction, Yomis' mother is Koyomi Mizuhara Sr. Hey, it's never named in the series, so no reason I can't toss out a name. Anywhoo, now that my writing drought is over, stay tuned for Chapter Six, Coming Soon! Same Azumanga Time! Same Azumanga Channel!


	6. Further Down the Spiral

Remember guys, when the dialogue picks up, Yomi is Yomi, Koyomi is her mother. Also, apologies for the long wait. Here, finally, is Chapter Six of The Downward Spiral!

The Downward Spiral

Chapter Six: Further Down the Spiral

Within minutes, they found themselves back at the for in the path. Though it had taken Tomo Takino and Yomi Mizuhara a great amount of time to walk from this point to the house of Tomo, as they had done about an hour earlier, the journey back was much more appropriate, time wise, for now, a small ray of hope shined inside of the girls.

All in a single day, they had made a decision that was supposed to have made their lives easier. Shortly thereafter, they were shunned by their closest friends, shell-shocked at how their revelation has been received, not with arms wide open, but with prejudice and denial. Even as they walked to come out to their parents, fearing the worst if word got to them by any means other than Tomo and Yomi telling them themselves, both girls felt for sure that the response from both sides would be none the better.

But then, for the first time in this tale, there was hope.

Mr. Takino, Tomo's father, had listened to their story, and in the end, it made no difference to him that his daughter was a lesbian, and after sharing his own news with Tomo and Yomi about being stationed in America for the next two years, he had told the girls something that had added on to the already existing joy of acceptance.

Now, with the promise of a place that the two could call home, there was but one last thing to be one, one last variable to be determined in their equation.

Not unknown to the girls, but unfortunate none the less, was the fact that all signs pointed to a bleak conclusion for this particular variable. Because this last variable was Koyomi Mizuhara Senior.

Yomi's mother, whom she was named after. Yomi Sr. had graduate Tokyo university, leaving with a four year degree in Theology, and was a proud and active believer in the Christianity religion. Though she was Japanese, Yomi Sr. had been born in America, and after spending a summer there with her great grandparents when she was about seven years old, had picked up on the American Religion of Christianity. From that point on, Yomi. Sr. dropped her family beliefs on Shinto, their Japanese religion, and began to study Christianity. Even though it wasn't big in Japan, the Theology field was general enough for Yomi Sr. to be able to get her degree and still hold on to her beliefs. At the end of the day, Yomi Sr. was the kind of person who probably knew the 'Word of God' BETTER than she knew the back of her own hand. Everyone has a hobby, some carry it farther and call it a passion, something that goes beyond everything else they do. If one were to ask Yomi Sr. what her passion was, the answer would be 'The Study of Christianity' every time. She did not reword that, nor did she mythically paraphrase it. Those four words were exactly what she would say every time, for it was all that she felt needed to be said.

She did not work, at least not in the sense of a Nine to Five kind of job, like her husband did. Though there would be times when Tokyo U's theology department, as well as other religion schools around the area, would call her up to come up for some daily assistance, which usually brought in a fair sum of money whenever she was called on. Between that and her husbands business workings, the Mizuhara family lived well, financially.

Yomi knew that her mom would go absolutely crazy, in the worst possible way, when she learned that her daughter was homosexual. It went against what she believed in, that romantic relationships be between anybody but a man and a woman, and Yomi Sr. stood by what she believed in, like an old dog would stand by his master.

But at this point in time, as the two girls turned and began to walk down the right side of the fork, following its path, they made the mistake of trying to believe.

They had, more or less, been shunned by Kagura, Sakaki, Osaka, Kaorin, and Chiyo-chan, (who had probably been told what the problem was by now). But those five, they were children. By the logic of Tomo and Yomi, the mind of an adult was more mature, and therefore more open to possibility and difference. The conclusion was drawn from the fact that Mr. Takino had so easily been able to comprehend and accept this newfound love, as far as the two were concerned. Yomi's mother was a college graduate of four years, and looking to go back for four more for a PHD, and a woman who usually held all the answers to her daughters questions. Surely then, even an active theologist such as Koyomi Sr. could understand and welcome this decision, if anything, just to support Yomi, one who she should love regardless.

That was the desirable ending.

Normal pace and all, to took the girls all of about five minutes to walk the distance from the fork in the path to where they stood now.

It may have been a single story house, and not exactly a great looking one on the outside, but Koyomi Mizuhara Sr. had definitely made the most of it. If one looked past size and exterior, the house was absolutely beautiful, as Yomi Sr. had spared no expense to interior design.

On the inside, Yomi's heart had began to feel heavier and heavier with each step that took her closer and closer to her home. Though she did not let it show, which would have ruined this wonderful hope that Tomo was now experiencing, Yomi knew. Her initial hope had faded, and she had fallen back to reality. She feared this meeting, for she knew exactly what the outcome was going to be, and knew that even divine intervention wouldn't change it.

Then, upon finally seeing her house, Yomi's heart had hit rock bottom.

She'd tried to prepare herself, but at the sigh of her mother, it had all fallen apart on the inside for Yomi. Once again, she knew that the next events about to happen were truly etched in stone, and there would be no changing them. The mere sight of her mother confirmed it. In Yomi's mind, the variable was solved, and the equation was about to turn out bad.

Koyomi stood before them.

With the exception of height, Yomi's mother was just about a fun-hose mirror image of Yomi herself. Where Yomi had long, brown hair, her mothers was short and rose-blonde. Jr. had glasses, Sr. had perfect twenty-twenty vision, and not to say that Yomi was fat, or that her mother was undeveloped, both by comparison, but when it came down to body figure, Yomi was larger in every way. Though in irony, Koyomi was a great cook and loved to eat. A doctor however had once told Koyomi that her metabolism was abnormally fast, answering the question of why she never put on any pounds. Sometimes, daughter and mother would joke about each others weight in this sense. Though right now, that was the absolute last thing on Yomi's mind.

And now, Yomi and Tomo's decision was the cherry on top of it all, the thing that would seal Yomi and her mother as true bi-polar opposites, so to speak. Yomi could now do nothing but hope for the best of the worst.

Koyomi had been outside watering her flower garden, when the sound of approaching footsteps on the stone path leading up to her house entered her ears. As she turned, she met the two girls with a look of curiosity.

"Oh, Yomi, Tomo." She gave daughter and her daughters best friend, as far as she knew, a serene smile to go alone with the look of curiosity. The fact of the matter was that Koyomi was a very nice person, and part of the emotional pain for Yomi was the fact that she was about to tell her mother something that would break her heart.

But this was something that had to be done.

"Is the ball game already over?" Koyomi asked, but already suspected something. She knew that the time the girls had been gone would barely had been enough to get to the ballpark and back.

"Well...we...uhmm...that is to say..." Yomi was visibly struggling. Oh, how hard this was for her. Tomo observed both that fact, and the fact of Koyomi's growing concern. Quickly, she took charge of the situation before Koyomi could jump to her own conclusions, which could only make this more difficult.

"It's a bit of a story, ma'am." Tomo tried to illustrate the point, while at the same time, be brief as possible. "We should probably go inside. Plus, Mr. Mizuhara may want to hear this too. May we?" With an arched brow, Koyomi nodded and opened the door, ushering the two girls into the house and following them in, quickly shutting the door behind her. Her suspicion was rising faster than would do the girls any good.

For you see, Tomo had already made a mistake of being out of her own character.

Who was this girl that looked like Tomo? Calm, formal, polite? This was not the girl Koyomi's daughter had grown up alongside, and the observant Senior Mizuhara had picked up on that.

At the sam time, though, Koyomi hadn't the slightest idea of what to make of the situation. In a sense, that worked to the girls immediate advantage.

The first sound the girls heard upon entering the house was the sound of the TV. The door leading to the exit of the house brought them into the living room, where a High Definition Television was placed, surrounded by three sofas, a coffee table, and various pictures hung up around the room. Sitting on the center sofa, leaned back and relaxed, sat Mr. Mizuhara, Yomi's father, channel surfing attempting to find something to watch. His curiosity rose also when he saw Tomo and Yomi enter the room.

"Well, hey girls." Mr. Mizuhara said, his voice more curious than welcoming. "Who won?" Yomi's dad never doubted what his daughter did. If she said she was going to a baseball game with her friends, then when she came home, her father assumed that she'd been to a baseball game. He trusted her, and Yomi loved him to death for it. She prayed that his love could continue through this.

"No-" Tomo was about to say, but Koyomi didn't give her the chance.

"Tomo said there was something that we needed to hear, darling." Koyomi always made sure the story she heard was the one that he heard, nothing fabricated. She looked at the two girls. "Have a seat and do tell, honey." She took her own seat beside her husband, while Yomi and Tomo sat on the couch to their left. For a moment there was nothing. Then Tomo decided to start.

"We didn't end up going with the girls to the game." She started with calmness that both parents saw as unnatural. "We told our friends about this, we told my dad about this. You're the last two that _need _to know. So now you get to know."

"Go on." Koyomi said simply. Mr. Mizuhara also nodded, as to agree. Tomo sighed heavily, as if preparing herself.

"We're-" Again, she was cut off, this time by a vice grip like hug from Yomi, who had small tears in her eyes.

"We're in love!" Yomi proclaimed loudly, as she held on to Tomo, her eyes shut tightly. "We're in love. I thought she was just a friend when we first met, but over time, I've realized I care for Tomo, deeply. She feels the same way." This statement was met with a nervous nod by Tomo, who did her best to free an arm and place it around Yomi, who wasn't quite done. "It may go against everything you go for, but I can't help it. This is the way it has become for us, and now you know." There was a long, long silence. Mr. Mizuhara looked thoughtful, but Koyomi was completely shocked, at a loss for words. In the dead silence, Yomi opened her eyes. Had it gone okay? Had it? Any reason for either girl to think that it had gone okay slowly melted away, as the expression on Koyomi's face slowly changed from emotionlessness, to rage.

"You..." Koyomi stammered with the words, bu there was no denying that the words she found would not be pretty. "You're no daughter of mine!" Her tone quickly changed, and even Mr. Mizuhara jumped at the sudden rise in volume. "I'll have no daughter that's a dyke! I'll condemn no daughter of mine to hell for such things!"Tears were now in Yomi's eyes, and Tomo was doing her best to comfort her, though she herself was slowly breaking out into tears too. Koyomi continued her rampage. "Anything from you room that you want, pack it. I want you out! I don't care where you go, but I want you out! Honey, come get me when that little...ugh is gone!" Koyomi immediately turned and walked away, heading out the back door. Mr. Mizuhara was shell-shocked. He looked to his wife, his daughter, his wife, his daughter again, before finally giving up. He took one last look at Tomo and Yomi, and with true sincerity, he spoke.

"I'm sorry, girls." With that he turned and ran after his wife, though he knew that he had no power to change her mind.

Yomi and Tomo knew that her dad meant what he had said. Unfortunately, he was in the kind of relationship with Koyomi that gave him little decision power. His wife was just hard headed, and had it been up to him, the girls knew this probably would have been a lot better.

Tears running down their faces, they helped each other up, and slowly up to Yomi's room to pack. Tomo cried because her highest hopes had come crashing down, while Yomi cried because, while she knew this was the outcome, she had not planned on her mother completely disowning her so quickly. It was a heartbreaker that some people in this world couldn't look past what was skin deep, so to say.

Either way, it had all fallen back down, and now, Tomo Takino and Yomi Mizuhara, had fallen further down the spiral.

Authors Note: Finally finally FINALLY I got back into writing. In truth, most of this episode was already written in a notebook. Though with school out, stuff with my girlfriend, and life, I've had a hard time getting to this. But now I'm back! I tried to do my best to explain a few things, like why Koyomi was a Christian as opposed to a believer in Shinto, stuff like that. Overall, I like how the story is going. I know it seems a little out there that people would jump to such conclusions, but I know from experience that there are people in real life that can be so easily affected by one thing. Anywhoo, I've said too much. Stay tuned for Chapter Seven!


	7. This Is Our Life

Okay guys, I know the story's been going a little slow lately, and this chapter won't be changing that. This will probably be one of the shortest chapters of the Fic, and it is pretty much just filler. However, we're coming up on a very eventful part of the story, so just bear with me, just like you have this far, and you won't be sorry come Chapter Eight.

The Downward Spiral

Chapter Seven: This is Our Life

She didn't understand.

She knew it was going to happen. There was no surprise. Everything had gone just as she'd predicted.

Why then, had Koyomi Mizuhara Jr. been so broken up inside when she'd been rejected by her mother?

It was a mystery indeed, and as Yomi walked alongside Tomo Takino, her girlfriend, carrying with her a rather large suitcase, she remained silent. Every now and then, Tomo would try to strike up a bit of meaningless conversation, if anything, just to attempt to lighten the mood, get Yomi's mind off of what had happened. Tomo loved Yomi dearly, and it was painful to see her like this.

"Hey, that's a pretty flower garden that that woman has." Tomo would lightly say. Yomi remained silent The two continued on. "It's really humid today, don'tcha think?" Tomo tried again some time later. Yomi did not respond. "I've heard there's a new Jet Li movie out. Wanna go check it out later?" Tomo was at the point of forcing out an answer, but Yomi remained quiet. Tomo sighed heavily, and gave up, merely walking over and putting an arm of support around Yomi. A few strange looks were shot their way, but when the onlookers saw Yomi, in her apparent state of depression, didn't think homosexual affection was at work, so much as friendly support. They were, of course, wrong, but right in a sense. Concern from a lover was at work here, and Tomo was all the more happier that attention wasn't focused on either of them. That was the last thing Yomi needed right now.

After what seemed like forever to Tomo, the two girls finally arrived back at the Takino Household, the house that would now be considered theirs. However, once they had ascended the wooden stairs, and arrived at the front door, the message they found in the form of a post-it note on the door didn't do this already horrible day any better. Slowly reaching up, Tomo, not even sure that Yomi knew where they WERE, pulled the Post-it from the door. As Tomo began to read, Yomi finally snapped out of it, so to speak.

"Girls, I'm sorry about this. I apparently didn't look close enough at my summon letter, and I got a call from my Battalion Commander wondering where the hell I was at. Anyway, turns out, I was supposed to leave today. I'm gone, I'll be gone, I'll try my DAMNDEST to make it back for graduation this year. Anyway, Tomo, Yomi, I love you, I support you two. Don't let it get you down, and try to find the bright side. Believe me, there always is one. Love, Dad."

Tomo sighed. "I guess this means..."

"We're all alone..." Yomi finished. Tomo jumped, she was so startled, actually hearing Yomi talk again.

"My thoughts exactly." Tomo draped her arm further around her lover, pulling her now from a mere arm-on-shoulder walk to an embrace, which Yomi returned by placing her arms on the small of Tomo's back. "We're all each other has left." They were staring deeply into each others lives.

"Yeah..." Came Yomi's response, though this time, in a dreamy kind of sense. All it had taken was one look into Tomo's sincere eyes to know, know that somebody still loved her, and even though her friends, her father against his will, and even her own mother had denied it, Tomo had supplied it.

Yomi's above thoughts didn't even have time to process before the passion began.

Her mom had always taught her to go ten percent of the way, after the man came the other ninety. That philosophy was out the window, as Yomi brought her face foreward, not even giving Tomo any room to come half of the way, before their lips locked. After an initial lip lock, the game of tonsil hockey, if you will, began. Tomo would get a quick lick of Yomi's canines, before Yomi herself would tag back, licking the bottom of her lovers lips. Both girls constantly let out heavy, passionate breaths, and nothing, not even the very occasional sound of car horns could ruin this moment. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they pulled away, both at the same time, and both looking like they could have enjoyed more very easily. As if to complete the moment, Yomi finished what she'd started before the kiss.

"...and I think it'll all be okay." The two exchanged knowing smiles, as well as a very tight hug, before letting go, still holding hands, while Tomo used her free hand to unlock the door, and Yomi using hers to carry her luggage.

All the problems in the back of Yomi's mind, the trauma of what had happened with her mother, and the surprise with her friends were still there, as they would be for the rest of Yomi's days, however many those be, and the same for Tomo, but both knew that they'd done the right thing to get themselves started in the direction of the path that would prove right for them.

At that moment, they honestly believed that there would be happiness in the end.

"Hey, if anything, we got our own place out of it." Tomo said, with her usual spunk now back in tact. Yomi chuckled at the fact. Only Tomo could find sunshine in the rain.

"I can always count on you to look on the bright side, can't I?" Yomi relenquished her grip on Tomo's hand, sitting her suitcase down near the staircase.

"Look for yourself, honey." Tomo waved her hand as an advertiser would. "Look around you, we've got a fridge full of good food, HD TV, the bills and utilites being paid for by Dad." She let Yomi take it in for a moment. "Surely to goodness we can still get work, make some dough, pimp this place out like we want it." Tomo took Yomi in her arms, looking straight into her eyes. "Don't you see? It's all right here, laid out for us." Yomi smiled into the chocolate eyes of her girlfriend. She knew there was truth in all that Tomo said to her. This young woman would never lie to her. That was the truth.

But then, something else caught her eye. Something behind Tomo. Which caused Yomi to look up. Tomo, confused by the sudden distraction, turned her head, and saw it too. Yomi nodded her conformation.

"We've also got school," Yomi said, not sure weather to be grim in the sense of their newfound social life (if you could call it that) or the dread of having to go back to school itself, though her tone reflected both. "Starting tomorrow."


	8. And Welcome To It

Okay guys, in my humble opinion, this is where it'll get good. Of course, I think the whole thing is good, but I'm the Author. This is where the story picks up, and I'll also say that within the next chapter or two, the rating will start to pick up. Basically, from this point on, this is an MA Fic. Anywhoo, enough of my ranting. Let's get on with it!

The Downward Spiral

Chapter Eight: And Welcome To It

The Next Day, The First Day of School

When Summer Vacation had started a few months ago, this had been a day that Tomo and Yomi had looked forward to with great anticipation. They would be Seniors, Year Three students. So much came with that title. College Entrance Exams, graduation, respect even. They'd be looked up to by all of those below them. They would be the elite of their school.

But now, in light of how everything had fallen apart, the girls would've been stunned if any of the _teachers_ would have even talked to them, and even more shocked if one of their former friends hadn't spilled the beans at all, if you will.

Neither girl was about to hold their breath on the news of their love not getting out. I mean, hardly anything else had gone their way. Why start hoping now? Yomi felt this way, and Tomo wasn't too far from it.

Either way, when the Alarm Clock in the girls bedroom rang at Six O'clock AM that day, they knew, like everything else that had conspired because of their romance, School was something that they could not avoid. Yomi was still an A's student, and Tomo was well on her way. Neither of them were about to let other people ruin their education.

Yomi was out of bed first, not exactly being the light sleeper. Rubbing the grogginess out of her eyes, she yawned as she reached over to shake Tomo awake.

"Tomo...Tomo...sweety...it's time to go to school..." Yomi still wasn't completely awake herself, but a groan from Tomo signified that she was awake, and with that, Yomi almost literally rolled out of bed, and off to take a shower.

No sooner had Yomi removed her pajamas and closed the door, before she heard a loud banging on the door.

"I'm up, Yomi..." Came Tomo's yell from the other side.

"Good." Yomi yelled back, making sure that the half awake Tomo could hear her voice over the sound of shower water. "I won't take too long."

There was a long pause, and Yomi was sure she heard Tomo yawn, before opening the door and speaking her reply.

"I'll go make breakfast." Tomo yawned and shut the door, but not before noticeably getting a good look at Yomi's naked butt. Of course, Yomi didn't mind. She just sighed as she entered the shower, more from still being tired than anything else. It'd been awhile since she'd gotten up this early. The last time, in fact, was a few weeks ago, when she'd gone to Magical Land with Tomo. The day they had confirmed each others love. A day that Yomi would always remember, as the only day in her life that was ever, truly perfect.

But it would also remind her of the day, a few weeks later, that had gone just the opposite.

Within Fifteen Minutes, Yomi had slowly awoken herself fully, finished her shower, and all of her morning bathroom duties. With the exception of being naked, she was ready to go. She stepped out of the bathroom and walked back to her and Tomo's room, still naked, where she put on her underwear and school uniform, which was actually a little big on her.

"I've been losing weight..." Yomi smiled to herself. "I'll have to ask Yukari about a new uniform..." She trailed off on her last statement. Yukari. How would she feel? What about Nyamo? Mr. Kimura? "Mr. Kimur-blegh!" Yomi thought that last name out to herself. "Okay, Yomi, chill out. We'll cross those bridges when we come to them." She'd gotten the thoughts out of her head, for now, at least, as she trotted down the stairs to the kitchen.

The aroma of Waffles and Bacon hung heavily in the air here, an aroma which Yomi liked very much. The sight of Tomo in an apron, cooking at the stove made Yomi all that much happier. Tomo knew some of Yomi's favorite foods. Yomi also sighted the ingredients for Fried Rice and Domburi to the side of the stove, which heightened Yomi's excitement even more. She walked over and took her seat at the table, which was already set with a dining set which was apparently pulled from both American and Japanese cultures, and loudly breathed in the air, which caused Tomo, who had an expectant look on her fact to turn around. She smiled at Yomi as she spoke.

"Figured you'd like it." Tomo said, knowingly. "Dad may have taught me American dishes, but I can still throw down the Japanese stuff. So I figured, hey, why not a mixture of both?" Tomo turned back to her cooking.

"And you knew my favorite." Yomi said back, sounding truly happy for the first time in awhile.

"What don't I know about you?" Tomo chuckled slightly as she posed the rhetorical question. It was true, Tomo and Yomi knew just about everything about one another, and what just their friendship had never told had all come out in the past few weeks. No secrets were kept between the two girls.

A solid foundation for a prosperous relationship, the way they saw it. Anything that one girl knew, was always important enough for the other to know.

Yomi had no answer to Tomo's question. She just smiled to herself as Tomo set the table with all the food. Eggs, Waffles, Fried Rice, Domburi, Orange Juice, and some toast for each girl. Tomo removed her apron, draping it over the back of her chair, which sat directly across from Yomi at the end of the table. The convince of the kitchen, as well as this whole house, was uncanny. It had always been Tomo and her father. Now, it was Tomo and Yomi. With the exception of having to clear out the clothes that Mr. Takino had left behind, to make room for Yomi's, there was little difference. In a way, Yomi had replaced Tomo's father, physically, in the house, and it was very easy transition indeed.

"Eat it now and you'll probably burn your tongue." Tomo warned as she began to walk towards the stairs. "Give it about five minutes. I brought the morning paper in if you need something to do while you wait." With that, Tomo was out of sight, as it was now her turn to clean up for school. It was Six-Thirty now, And ideally, Tomo and Yomi would be on their way sometime between Seven-Fifteen and Seven-Thirty. This schedual had been set up by Tomo, surprisingly. Apparently, she'd been the type of person who _could_ be up and early and on schedual, but always lacked the motivation.

Now, Yomi was the motivation. Finally, Tomo had something in her life to truly get her going.

About Ten minutes later, Tomo came back downstairs, she too dressed in her school uniform, which still fit her perfectly. Tomo wasn't exactly a growing child, and her dad and her had agreed more than once that she'd be lucky to grow a few more inches in her lifetime.

Tomo was surprised when she re-entered the kitchen. There was Yomi, working on the crossword puzzle section of the paper, still sitting right where Tomo had left her. However, the food hadn't been touched.

"Whassamatta?" Tomo said, confused at the moment, but still keeping her usual carefree attitude about her. "You know it's probably cool enough to eat now." Tomo took her seat opposite of Yomi, and began to put some food onto her plate. Two Waffles, an egg, Orange juice (though it was the only drink on the table), and a bowl of fried rice was the breakfast she'd picked out for herself.

"I know." Yomi said, without looking up. After she'd finished scribbling in a word on her puzzle, she placed the pencil down, and pushed the paper off to the side. Speaking as she began to get her food. "I wasn't about to eat without you, Tomo." Yomi smiled and took for herself, a bowl of friend rice, and a bowl of domuri, as well as her toast, a large glass of orange juice, and four strips of bacon. Tomo giggled slightly.

"How sweet of ya." Her tone was halfway joking, halfway sarcastic as usual, but Yomi knew she meant it. Yomi'd grown to know when Tomo was being sincere, and when she was just being a pest. Most of the time, it just sounded like the latter.

The two girls ate happily, making small talk over the breakfast table here and there. Both knew better than to ruin the meal, as well as anything else, with the talk of how they'd be accepted by the student body. There was a very small bright spot in the form of this good breakfast, and this morning which was starting out pretty good. Both Tomo and Yomi wanted to keep this happiness about them as long as they could, before the certain woes began.

It was Seven past Seven when the girls piled the dishes into the sink, deciding they'd rather clean up after school, and after picking up their bags, were on their way.

The walk to school was a short one, and as far as Tomo and Yomi saw, no classmates, or barely even anyone from their school was passed along the way. Both girls were thankful, and their good mood was preserved.

They arrived at school at about Seven-Forty Five, after stopping to admire some very nice flowers, among other things to eat up the free time they knew they would have, seeing as how school didn't start up until Eight. The courtyard was crowded as usual, and the crowd only grew thicker as Tomo and Yomi made their way to the board which would tell them of their home-room class.

However, as they walked closer and closer, the good feeling left them, and the misery began.

It wasn't much at first. A few whispers, which could have been about anything. Then there were more. Tomo heard her name a few times. More. Yomi heard a blatant derogatory statement aimed at her from a kid who couldn't keep his voice down. More and more. The two weren't holding hands. They were merely walking beside one another. But all of the students present were either paying the two no-never mind, whispering, or staring AND whispering. Unfortunately, about nintey-nine percent of the kids were noticeably committing those last two acts.

About ten steps away from the home-room board, the crowd parted all-together, and the only people that Tomo and Yomi saw now were Sakaki, Kagura, and Chiyo. When Tomo and Yomi approached, Kagura wasted no time.

"Kaorin is the only one of us fortunate enough to have been placed elsewhere. Otherwise, Yukari and the rest of us are stuck with you two." So it was Yukari once again. If anything, this showed that Yukari Tanizaki either hadn't heard, didn't care, or that the placement truly was random (though Kaorin's winding up in the home-room of Mr. Kimura would beg to differ.) The two tried to keep their faces emotionless, but Yomi was frowning, and couldn't stop it. Had Kagura not tortured them enough?

What caught Tomo's eye was Chiyo-chan, who was doing her best to hide behind Sakaki's legs. She was doing a good job of it, except for the fact that her pig-tails gave her away. But that wasn't what got Tomo.

Chiyo was cowering, visibly shaking. Once, she slowly peeked out, only to return to hiding at the sight of the two lesbians. She didn't know what Kagura and the rest had told Chiyo, but they'd evidently told her enough to where the mere sight of either Tomo or Yomi scared the poor girl.

"You've turned her into a homophobic." Tomo said aloud. She didn't mean to, but she'd said it. The fact that she was looking at the spot where Chiyo would be if Sakaki wasn't in the way told Kagura exactly what she meant.

"As well she should be." Kagura said hatefully, before motioning for Sakaki. She was met with a nod, and the two started to walk away. "Know that we've all spoken enough to you two for today. Get lost." Kagura, still hateful, said to Yomi as she walked by. As soon as Kagura was gone, the whispers started up again, and the place was louder than ever. Tomo and Yomi just stood there, and after what seemed like light-years, the bell finally rang, and everyone was ushered into the school. Reluctantly, Tomo and Yomi had headed in.

On the outside, they were fine. They'd expected no less. It was simply the fact of the matter that it was happening, that got to them on the inside. The fact that they were being treated as the outcasts from society, and the fact that it was all being lead by the same people who, months earlier, were they're best friends.

Now, it was just them.

The courtyard had cleared out, and Tomo and Yomi were walking in behind everyone else. Freshmen staring back at them, everyone else gossiping in front. The fact that they suspected it was coming, didn't make it any less painful.

"This is our life, now, Yomi." Tomo whispered. Though it seemed like anything that either girl said silenced the crowd within the immediate vicinity. Yomi met with an uneasy nod.

"Welcome to it, Tomo. We're here for the long run." Yomi whispered back, though the volume really didn't seem to matter. They were going to be chastised for any word that came out of their mouth. Even a hello to one another would probably cause talk. It may seem ridiculous, but that was exactly the situation of Tomo Takino and Yomi Mizuhara on their first day back to school.

Thier shoes were changed out, and they tried their best to walk to class, even though, it seemed that wherever they went, eyes were on them. Granted, there were many people who either didn't know, doubtful, or didn't care, more likely. But for every one of those people, there were five who did care, and two who were completely disgusted or repulsed by the two girls, if one were to make this into a ratio.

They made their way to their home-room, Class 3, where Tomo took her usual seat, closest one to the door, and Yomi right beside her. A boy who's name that neither girl could recall came in, and was very close to demanding that Yomi move, in the seat that was usually his, before his lady friend whispered something to him, and was able to drag him off without another word, though Tomo was positive she'd heard the word 'dykes' in there. It killed her, it killed both of them. It was a good thing they hadn't decided to come to school holding hands, or arm in arm. The reaction would have surely been astronomical in the worst of ways.

One by one, their former friends came in. Kagura, Sakaki, and Chiyo didn't even bother them a passing look, and Osaka apparently didn't notice the two. Then again, Osaka failing to be observant wasn't exactly the surprise of the century. Tomo and Yomi would've liked it if everyone had reacted that way.

They got everything. From dirty looks to flagrant swears, it was all directed at them. Of the Thirty-Two people who cam into the room, about twenty of them, not including Sakaki, Kagura, Chiyo, and Osaka, has something bad to say to them. Everyone else, nothing. Not a single "Hello.", not a single "How was summer?". Nothing. Nobody seemed to care anymore. Perhaps the rest of their classes would be better. Probably not, but then again, hoping had yet to hurt them.

The after effects had.

A few minutes later, the second bell rang, and in stepped the teacher. Yukari Tanizaki, a young woman about nose-high on Yomi, brown hair, curly near the bottom, and her favorite purple suit, which the girls had always seen her wear on the first day back. They were hopeful, hopeful that at least the teacher would be unbiased.

Those hope were shot down quicker than a lame horse.

It was small, but they saw it. Nobody else would have, even the ones who were paying attention to Yukari completely wouldn't have noticed. But Tomo did, as did Yomi. A glare, from the eyes of teacher to both girls. It showed them that Yukari didn't approve either. Then, a split second later, the usual.

"Well, you guys are single now. You know the drill. Tanizaki Yukari, teacher, Class 3..." Yomi and Tomo stopped listening here. Both faked paying attention, but made sure not to keep their eyes on Yukari for too long, for fear that she'd snap and say something about them aloud. Knowing her as they did, it wouldn't have been a big surprise.

They dared not sigh, either, for the same fear. But with each passing moment, the purpose of hoping became less and less to the two. Like a lamp in the middle of the desert, there didn't seem much point in it anymore. They both knew that the ride they were in for was gonna be tough, and they decided to stop hoping and just go through with it, surviving like they knew they could.

Like they thought they could, would be more like it.

They were not alone. They had each other. But, other than that, who? Nobody. Tomo's father was in America, but even if he had been present in Japan, what could he have done? Sure, a talk to the principal on the girls behalf, and maybe counceling with the girls who had been giving them a hard time, assuming any specific group was to blame, but the truth is, High School gossip, and how people feel towards you, cannot be changed unless the person has the will. As far as Yomi and Tomo saw, nobody wanted to accept them.

After Yukari's never changing speech, scheduals were passed out. Thankfully, Tomo and Yomi both received theirs from someone who made no mention of their love. The last thing the girls wanted was any more attention than they were already going to get.

"So, we've got...all but gym class together." Tomo stated.

"Nyamo's class..." Yomi trailed off. The fact of not being with Tomo for even one period of the day was a bit too much to bear. She hated being singled out enough when they were together. What was going to happen if Tomo wasn't there for her? She truly would be the outcast of that fifth period gym class.

Tomm wasn't exactly happy about it either, but tried not to show it. "Hey, don't worry about it." She said comfortingly. "It'll be alright, it's just one period. Besides..." She was cut off by the bell, telling them that it was time to move on. They had Classical Literature first, which meant Mr. Kimura.

By now, Tomo had also considered the possiblitiy of how _he _would feel about this, and upon arriving in his class, it didn't take long for them to realize that it wouldn't be any more pleasant.

Neither ever caught him, but Tomo and Yomi knew that Mr. Kimura was staring at them. When the bell rang, for class to start, he took role, then, turned to them.

"Ms. Mizuhara, Ms. Takino, could you two step out in the hallway, please?" Kimura said, looking as normal as he ever would, which wasn't very normal.

"Yes sir." Was the response from both girls, and the gossip immediately started up, but Kimura was quick to silence them.

"Students, class is about to start, I'll have none of this hubbub and what-not. Now, pull the Lit books out of your desk, and get out some paper. Turn to page Thirty-Seven and be ready when I come back." After giving the instructions, Kimura followed the two girls out, shutting the door behind him, triggering the gossip and the whispering again as soon as he was out of the room. Though Tomo and Yomi knew he could hear it, they correctly guessed that he had other things on his mind.

"Now girls," He started out simply as one such as himself could. "I've heard rumors..." He trailed off. Neither girl dared say anything, for fear of setting off his perverted mind any earlier than could be helped. They merely nodded. "I just want you to know..." He snapped. "THAT IF YOU EVER NEED ANYTHING YOU CAN ALWAYS COME TO _ME!_" His neck twisting in every which way and his mind running crazy, Kimura just stared, and Tomo and Yomi, though completely disgusted and aware of his true intent, merely kept themselves composed, and after a moment, Kimura calmed back down. "Ahem...yes, well, now then...back to class, shall we." He opened the door and allowed the two to walk in first, about the most curtious thing they'd ever seen the man do, though it didn't mean much coming from him. Tomo and Yomi stepped back into the classroom.

The class immediately hushed, and Kimura closed the door behind him, before working his way back up to the desk, where he began to teach.

Tomo and Yomi did their work, as usual, and not much was said before the bell rang again, and they silently walked on to their next period.

The day had just begun, but already, the young lovers were wishing for it to end. Either way, it was shaping up to be a long, long, year.


	9. The Remedy?

Not a lot for me to say here guys. Thanks for reading this far, thanks for the reviews, all that kind of thing. It did just occur to me that even I really don't know how many chapters this is going to be. I've done my beginning, and I know my end. I just don't know how much middle it's gonna take to get there. Also, note that I know I made a typo in the last chapter. When Yukari said 'You guys are single', it should have been 'You guys are seniors.' I was thinking ahead of myself, so my bad. Either way, I guess I'll just keep writing until I feel like enough is enough. **Also, from this point on, this story is rated MA. Thank you.**

The Downward Spiral

Chapter Nine: The Remedy?

By their standards, the rest of the day went well.

There wasn't too much criticism, there wasn't a whole lot of aloud confrontations, and about the worst that had gotten shot at Tomo and Yomi for the rest of the day had been evil looks, and the sound of gossip of course was always there.

They weren't exactly singled out at lunch, but the person that sat nearest to either of them was a good five feet away. He didn't really seem to care, nor did the ones who had sat down at the same table in the first place. Either way, it was an uninterrupted lunch, and while neither girl was about to say that they were happy with this, they were satisfied for now. The day could have been a whole lot worse.

Of course, once some of the boys started to follow Mr. Kimura's way of thinking, it probably would get worse, but again, that was something that came with the package.

After Lunch, Yomi and Tomo were separated for one period, one of two times in the day that that would be. Yomi had Fifth Period Gym Class, and Tomo had Fifth Period Music Class, a Class Yomi had elected not to take After that, Yomi had Sixth Period Gym, to Tomo's Sixth Period English, as in American English. 'See ya Seventh Period.' was all that was said from Yomi to Tomo and Tomo to Yomi. A hug, a kiss, nothing like that would have been necessary, and would have caused way too much attention. The girls had learned that there was a time and a place for everything.

As Yomi walked, she worried. Her and Nyamo Kurosawa, the Gym teacher at school, had gotten along fairly well, in the last two years at Chiyo-chan's beach house. Then again, the way things had been going, another rejection wouldn't have surprised Yomi in the least, and with her being the more pessimistic of the two, she didn't exactly have high hopes for any acceptance.

To Yomi's surprise, however, gym class went smoothly. As usual, she was one of the more flexible girls in the class, with only a few boys being able to beat her out, so stretches went well. After that, Ms. Kurosawa handed out some basketballs and, after a brief lecture on sports safety, everyone had a free day in gym class. The best part? While nobody came out and straight up _said _it, nobody seemed to have any problems with Yomi. She wasn't picked last for the pick up basketball game, (matter of fact, she was picked first, by one of the boys that was known for his perversion, but Yomi wasn't really complaining at this point), none of the girls on the other team were afraid to play defense on her, and overall, it was fun.

The period was drawing to a close, and everybody was sweating and playing somewhat sloppily. Somebody went up for a shot, and Yomi, on defense, went for a block, but missed, and lightly smacked the guy on the noggin.

"Oh my, I'm sorry." Yomi bowed apologetically. They guy just rubbed his face in his shirt and bowed back. Then, however, the blow of a whistle was heard, and everybody looked to see Nyamo, Ms. Kurosawa standing there. She was looking straight at Yomi.

"Gotta step up, Yomi, but don't get sloppy." Nyamo said, sounding like the true sports critic that she was. Yomi just bowed again.

"Yes, ma'am." She was always respectful to her teachers. Even Mr. Kimura, to the extent that one could be. As Yomi began to turn her back, Nyamo blew her whistle again, drwaing her attention back once again.

"Your dad dropped something off for you in the office, Yomi. Come with me, please." Nyamo turned her back and began to walk away. Immediatley, and with great interest, Yomi followed her. What could her father have sent her? An apology? Could it not wait till later? An 'I'm Sorry' note that her mother was too proud to give? As Nyamo held the double doors to the Gym open, Yomi passed through, and the former addressed the class one last time. "You all have roughly five minutes before the bell rings. Clean everything up and be ready to go, or you guys won't see the Gym again until the spring." She never yelled, but she made her students listen. That was the great thing about Nyamo.

Yomi had already started to walk to the main building of the school when she heard the doors shut to the Gym, and once again, the voice of Nyamo.

"Hold it, Yomi. We're not going to the office." Surprised, Yomi turned around, and was already face to face with her Gym teacher

"But you-" Yomi cut herself off. She knew now. Her father hadn't sent her anything.

"I had to get you out of there without raising any suspicion." Nyamo said, sympathetically. She placed a hand on Yomi's shoulder. "Look, I know some of the kids are giving you a tough time, and I'm more than sure that Yukari hasn't been easy either?"

"She's not really come out and said it, but..."

"But you know?"

"But we know."

"Well, I plan to talk to her later, and any of my students that give you trouble in this class, or Tomo in hers. I don't see it being too much of a problem though." Wow, Yomi thought, Nyamo really knew how to comfort sombody. She couldn't help but smile.

"Thanks, Ms. Kurosawa." Yomi said, still smiling. Maybe it had been the fact that Yomi wasn't expecting sympathy or kindness. Maybe it had been the fact that her classmates that period had been so friendly. Yomi didn't know why, but she was happy that now, she had somebody that she could talk to during the school day, should problems arise. Nyamo was really a great person.

"I don't have a problem, and I'm here if you need me." She moved her hand up and ruffled Yomi's hair slightly, then took a step back. "You better go on, or the kids are going to think something is up." Yomi nodded and headed back to the locker room, where she would change and be on her way. It had been an average day up until that point, and now, Yomi was beginning to see the light through the darkness.

Tomo and Yomi were together again in seventh period, Math class, the last class of the day. Both took seats near the window, and had a very brief talk before class started.

"Boy, do I have good news to tell when we get home." Yomi said. She was still smiling brightly from Nyamo's show of kindness. Tomo, on the other hand, had a very paranoid look on her face, and she kept her bag inside of her desk, though her hand never left the handle.

"Same here, Yomi. Same here." Her voice was on the borderline of breaking at a few points, and Yomi began to worry.

"Tomo, are you-" But the concern for her girlfriend was cut off by the ringing of the bell, and the teacher entering the room.

"Well, class, you may think that just because it's the first day of school, we can all just slack off." Said the Math Teacher, a Middle Aged man with a black toupe. "Well, I have news for you. Arithmetic doesn't care what day it is! Pull those Textbooks out of your desk and open them to page Thirty-Five." There were many sighs and cries of tired anguish from the class, but in the end, they gave way to the Old School Teacher, and the work began.

About fifty minutes later, the final bell rang. They'd done it. Yomi and Tomo had made it through their first day of school as a lesbian couple in one piece.

Not waiting for the crowds to dim, the two girls were out the door immediatley, and a few minutes later, they were walking down one of the backroads that curved behind the school, and would eventually take them home.

"So, what's you're good news?" Tomo asked, cheerfully. She seemed much more calm and collected than she was an hour ago. Yomi noted this happily, and responded, telling the story of what Nyamo had said. She was able to recite it damn near word for word. After all, Nyamo's words had been the highlight of Yomi's day, and she wouldn't easily forget them.

"Basically," Yomi recapped when she was finished. "Anytime we need to, we can go to Nyamo, and she'll help us. Great, ain't it?"

"Sure is," Tomo replied. "But why didn't she tell me this?" Yomi thought for a moment, but was quickly able to put two and two together.

"Well, if she'd pulled both of us out of class, even if she was _saying_ that it was for something else, like to be taken to the office, or something like that, people probably would have figured it out. In my PE class, I didn't hear the word Lesbian, Dyke, or anything like that, at all. I don't think she wanted to give them a reason to single me out."

"Ahh..." Tomo understood better now. She may have been the practical one, but when it came to Inductive Reasoning, Yomi was the one to go to, hands down.

"So, what about your news, hon?" Yomi inquired. She was finally able to be affectionate out loud. Nobody was on this road but Tomo and Yomi. Tomo just smirked.

"Oh, you'll see when we get home." All she did was pat her bag and continue walking. Yomi arched an eyebrow, but though she was curious, she could wait, and decided to strike up a conversation about something else.

"So, how was your PE class?" Yomi asked.

"Oh, it was..."

For the next twenty minutes, Tomo and Yomi walked and talked, talked and walked. If one were to walk by at this point, or if one were to eavesdrop on the conversation, knowing that Yomi and Tomo were girlfriends, one would probably think, _'These two don't sound like teenage girl fuck buddies. If anything, they sound like a married, lesbian couple who love each other, and not just each others bodies.' _And of course, one would be exactly right.

Finally, they arrived at the house. Yomi pulled the house key out of her bag, unlocked the door, and held it open for Tomo, who went inside and immediatley began to close all of the windows and blinds on the ground floor of the house. This did nothing but peak Yomi's curiosity further, as she suspected it had something to do with her news.

"Hey, what're you-" Then she saw the dirty dishes from this morning. "Just come in the kitchen when you want to talk, hon." With that, Yomi rolled up her sleeves and walked into the kitchen, where she would put on her apron and begin to wash the dishes.

A few minutes later, Tomo walked in and sat her bag down at the table. After catching her breath, she pulled a chair up, and sat down, beginning to undo the straps on the bag. Yomi turned to confirm that it was Tomo, then looked back to the dishes she was washing.

"So, what's the big news?" Yomi asked bluntly. Tomo stopped what she was doing for a moment and stood up.

"Well, remember how I told you Kimura was giving me a hard time in American English?" Tomo started by using an event to lead into her point.

"Yeah," Yomi responded. "Couldn't you like, report him for that?"

"I don't think so. It wasn't really anything he said. It was the staring and the innuendo he put into his teachings." There was a bit of silence, where the only sound that could be heard was the water running out of the sink, and the occasional _clank_ of a plate that Yomi sat down to dry off later. Tomo broke the silence quickily. "But that's not the point."

"Then do you care to get to it?"

"Well, anyways. After class, somebody came up to me."

"Who is this sombody?"

"Do you know Tamika Hamisaki?"

"Short, black hair, big scar on her forehead?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

"What about her?"

"Well, she came up to me." Tomo said, now opening her bag, and reaching in, fiddling around with a zipper pocket on the inside. "And told me she knew that I was going through tough times." Yomi listened, but she was now growing concerned. Tomo wasn't exactly the easiest person in the world to trick. "So we went up on the roof, and a few of her friends told me they knew exactly what I needed, and for a small price, they could give it to me."

Yomi was freaking out in her mind. _'Please, do not let her have done what I think she's done.' _On the outside, though, she was able to keep a calm demeanor. "What was the price?"

"Don't worry, sweets, I covered it." Tomo gave that cheesy smile of hers. Yomi played along.

"Alright," She said, now eyeing the bag. Tomo had her hand in, as Yomi could see, the zipper pocket on the inside, and the was she was holding it didn't relenquish her fears one bit. "But what's this remedy, if you will?"

"This." Tomo pulled it all out quickly and without hesitation. In one hand, she held a metal razor, about an inch long and three wide, with a sharp tip at each end. There were also two straws, one metal and one of a very hard plastic. In the other hand, there was a zip-loc bag, full of a white, squishy powder.

Tomo had purchased a few pounds of Cocaine.

Yomi wasn't in the least bit surprised, but she wasn't at all happy. She dropped the dish she was working on, almost breaking it, and got right up in Tomo's face.

"What were you thinking!" She didn't scream, but her voice held a great deal of anger. "Might I remind you that you hold ILLEGAL DRUGS in your hands!" Tomo was spazzing.

"Yomi, Yomi, Yomi! Shhhh! Somebody will hear you." There was a moment of silence, Yomi stared at Tomo, noticabley pissed. Tomo stared back, with her trademark 'Just give me a chance' look on her face. In the end, Tomo won, with Yomi plopping down in the chair beside of her, her head hanging back, and her hands cluching her skull.

"How much did you pay?" Yomi asked, her voice dragging, as if she knew she wasn't going to like the answer.

"Just Four Thousand Yen. It wasn't that much." Yomi just sighed and slid down deeper into her chair.

"Well, get it over with, Tomo." Tomo nodded in response. First, she laid down a piece of paper. Then, taking a handfull of the Cocaine, she placed it on the paper, using the razor to form it all into a line, then to divide it into small, inch long strips. There were nine of these. Taking a deep breath, she took the plastic straw, placing it into her nose. She placed it on the first line, and slowly, began to snort.

The sound was sickening to Yomi, but when it stopped, she looked up. Tomo had finished the first line, and Yomi could already see it in her eyes. She was high, and it was only going to get worse as Tomo went down on the second line.

Then, curiosity got the better of Yomi, she stood up, and walked beside Tomo, holding out her hand.

"The straw, dear." Tomo just smiled and handed it over.

"I want it back when you're done, baby." Just by the tone of her voice, Yomi knew that Tomo was high. However, curiosity had gotten the better of her, and Yomi went down on the third line and began to snort.

The drug entered her System, but immediatley, it did nothing for Yomi, who sat back down, placing the straw back down on the paper. Tomo took the straw and, with her pupils in the process of dialating, looked at Yomi questionabley.

"Does nothing for me." Yomi said truthfully. "It's all yours." Her lover just smiled and proceeded to continue.

Tomo went down on the fifth line, then the sixth, then the seventh, and so on until she was done. Not just with that handfull, but with the whole bag, which turned into about twenty more lines. In the end, she was breathing heavily, and couldn't stay still at all.

"Is there more?" Tomo asked. Oh, how high she was. It didn't help at all that that was her first time. Yomi shook her head, also breathing a little hard. The one line she had done earlier was starting to come back to her, but it wouldn't affect her near as much as the other eight had affected Tomo. "Oh well, just gotta get more tomorrow!" Tomo went into the living room and laid down on the couch and began to channel surf, though Yomi was sure that she didn't know what was going on half the time. She just sighed, and went back to cleaning the dishes.

'_I'll talk to her about it later.' _Yomi thought. _'Not gonna let her get addicted. Although...no, no. It was bad. Don't even think otherwise.' _For now, she was the one in control. Though every now and then, Yomi couldn't help but look back, and take a long look at where that Coke had been earlier.

Maybe she would talk to Nyamo about this tomorrow.

Maybe.


	10. The Fragile Promise

First of all, I want to apologize if the last chapter seemed a bit sub par. I did my best to fill a plot hole here and there, but in the end, I've not written in two months. And I know that I forgot to run spell check last time. Bah! And I will say that, if my intentions hold, this story will have 14 Chapters At most. Also also, this chapter is short and more or less plot filler. Also also also, it should now be apparent I know nothing of drugs. And now, time for Chapter Number Dix, for those of you who speak any french.

The Downward Spiral

Chapter Ten: The Fragile Promise

"Ugh..." Yomi tossed and turned a bit in the bed before finally deciding to open her eyes. After a moment, she was able to fixate her gaze upon the clock. Ten past Ten. Had she really slept that long? She yawned as she sat up, adjusting her school girl uniform that she had been too lazy to change out of. "What a dream, eh Tomo?" Yomi looked to her side, but there was no Tomo there. Yomi thought for a moment, and then, it all came back to her. "Oh, SHIT!" She was downstairs immediately, and her fears were realized.

On the floor in front of the TV, there lay Tomo, not moving, and face down in a large pool of her own vomit and blood.

"Oh, God!" Yomi ran over to Tomo and immediately sat her up, propping her up against the couch. Most of Tomo's body moved with rag-doll like physics as Yomi moved it. Her lips were covered in vomit stains, and apparently, the blood had seeped out of her nose. "Tomo! Tomo! Speak to me!"

It was only a few seconds, but it seemed like forever before Tomo moved on her own. Jerking her head to one side, she vomited violently on the bottom of the couch, then jerked her head to the opposite side, slowly opening her eyes to see Yomi.

"Am I...dead?" Tomo asked, and Yomi could sense that she was honestly wondering. "Ugh! Ah! My head!" Tomo brought her arms up, clutching her noggin tightly, as though it were about to split right down the middle.

"No, Tomo, you're alright! Hold on, I'll get you some medicine!" Yomi wasted no time in talking or moving. After quickly making sure that her lover wouldn't fall, she ran to the kitchen, searching the cabinets for any form of drugs. Finally, she found where they were kept, and began to browse through them hastily. "Peptol, Cherry Peptol, Ah! Tylenol!" It was a bottle of Tylenol Eight Hour, which she hoped would do just fine. Untwisting the lid, Yomi took out one pill, though she would leave this bottle out, knowing it would probably be needed later, grabbed a glass, filled it with tap water, and ran back to Tomo, who was still clutching her head through her now brown and yellow hair.

"Yomi! It hurts!" Tears rolled down the side of Tomo's face, as she cried softly through the small gurgles that she would make when she almost hurled. Reasoning that Tomo couldn't do it herself, Yomi placed the pill into her girlfriends mouth, and assisted her in drinking just enough water to swallow the pill. Tomo, being her usual self, still complained. "It still hurts!" She did however, finally stop throwing up, and found herself in Yomi's arms.

"It's alright, darling." There was a large sigh in Yomi's voice as she spoke. "Just gotta let it run it's course." She held and caressed her young lover, but in her mind, the self-grief was on. _'I let this happen.' _She thought to herself. _'I should have burnt that Coke the minute I saw it.' _Aloud, she sighed again. _'Alright, Yomi. Just because she took better charge of the situation at first, doesn't mean she knows what's best for her. You do know what's best for her. Time to look out for her. Be strong, Yomi, be strong.' _She sat there with Tomo for a good half an hour by the clock, before Tomo finally stopped groaning. Yomi just looked down at the one whom she held in her arms. "Heya."

Tomo weakly looked up to match her look, and returned with an equally weak smile. "I'm...sorry." She spoke barely above a whisper, and Yomi guessed that she couldn't really speak any louder. Mustering all her strength, though it didn't take much to carry Tomo, Yomi hoisted her lover up into her arms, and began to walk up the stairs. "Where are we going?" Tomo spoke slowly, trying to save her energy.

"Somebody needs a bath." Yomi smiled perkily and sounded playful. Tomo merely returned it.

"Yes mommy..." Yomi honestly couldn't tell if she was being playful, loving, if she was still high, or a combination of the three. Either way, she used her free hand to open the door of the bathroom, close it back, and helped Tomo undress.

Any other time, the sight of her lover naked might have aroused her. At this point, however, Yomi was much more concerned with making sure that Tomo was clear, and above all, making sure she'd learned her lesson.

Somewhat, Tomo was able to undress herself from the waist up, but Yomi more or less had to assist with her shoes, socks, skirt, and panties, for the former really had no energy left. She almost allowed herself to fall into the bathtub, like one would fall into bed after a rough day at work, but Yomi caught her and sat her down gently, and began to run warm water into the bathtub, squirting a very small amount of bubble-bath liquid into the tub. The bubbles bubbled up quickly, and a few minutes later, the bath was ready, and Yomi found herself pulling up her sleeves, and squirting body wash onto a loofa.

"Try and sit up." Yomi instructed. "I'm going to start with your back." Tomo was able to comply, but only after grabbing on to the faucet, and using it to pull herself up, as well as to steady herself as Yomi gently washed her back. She would also move down to wash the buttocks, and even in her state, Tomo could still tease and smart-mouth.

"You just want to feel my ass up, don't you?" Tomo accused her. Though weakly spoken, it still carried that trademark voice tone of Tomo's, which did assure Yomi that her girlfriend was turning back into herself. All the latter could do was sigh.

"I'm gonna smack you if you don't cut it out, Tomo." Tomo just smirked.

"Mmmm, I like it like that." Yomi just rolled her eyes, and began on the other side, washing Tomo from the chest down. She also took some shampoo to Tomo's neck-length hair, being careful not to get any of it in her eyes or Tomo's. Neither said much more, until Yomi began to wash her on the vagina. Truthfully, Tomo didn't mean to moan, but a soft one escaped her lips.

"What did I tell you earlier?" Yomi scolded slightly.

"That wasn't on purpose..." Tomo was starting to sound like her energy was returning, but this time, she spoke sincerely. Yomi believed her as she dunked the loofa in the water to rinse it, and stood up, wiping her hands on a nearby towel.

"All done. Think you can dry yourself off?"

"Yeah, I'm a lot better now." Tomo stood up and stretched, bubbly water rolling down her naked body. Yomi had to fight not the be turned on. There were more important matters at hand. As she handed Tomo a towel to dry off with, Yomi began to lecture, for lack of a better term.

"I hope this taught you something." She said bluntly. "Did you enjoy lying in your own puke?"

"Not particularly." There wasn't really a smart-aleck answer that Tomo could come up with for that one.

"I didn't think so." Yomi really sounded like a parent right here. "Not only does it hurt you, but it really hurts me to see you like that. I want you to promise me you won't waste any more money on that."

"I promise." Tomo shrugged, like it was nothing.

"Goddammit Tomo!" She was screaming now. "I want to know that you mean it!" There was a long silence, and after a few minutes, Tomo, still somewhat damp, dropped the towel she was using, and walked over, wrapping her arms around Yomi, and looking her dead in the eyes.

"I promise, Yomi." Tomo said it like she meant it this time. Oh, Yomi just had so much of a hard time resisting that voice. Those eyes. And she was naked to boot.

"Tomo..." Yomi wrapped her arms around Tomo, pulling her closer into the embrace. "I'm sorry for yelling at you." Tomo's face was maybe inches from Yomi's.

"It's alright, Yomi. I understand that it hurts..." Anything that either of them would have said next was muffled by the sounds of a deep and passionate kiss. Both girls put their all into it, tongue tapping, heaving breathing, everything.

But their hands were not idle this time. Tomo initiated the contact, taking one of her hands and sliding it up Yomi's skirt, fondling her butt, which caused Yomi to moan with surprised arousal. To Tomo's surprise, Yomi returned the favor, by placing one hand on Tomo's bare butt, and using another to rub what little breasts Tomo did have. This kind of bodily contact went on for a few minutes, before Tomo broke the kiss, and looked up at Yomi.

"Let's take this to the bed, eh love?" She said in a seductive voice. Yomi just slipped her glasses off, placing them on the bathroom sink, and led Tomo back into the bedroom.

If one had accidently wandered into the house, and walked by the stairs, the sound of wonderful lesbian love could be heard for the next fifteen minutes, before the two finished, and fell asleep, naked in each others arms, with a face full of the others body fluids.

Things did not get better for the two over the next six months, however.

Tomo's promise to quit the Cocaine proved very fragile. The very next day, she brought home more. And the day after, and the day after, always justifying herself with things like 'Don't worry, it'll all be okay.' or 'This is the last day, I promise.'. On days when Yomi was in a bad mood, Tomo would often sneak it home. It only got worse when their money started to run dry. All of the money from Tomo's after school job, and some from Yomi's, went to purchasing drugs. When that money ran dry, at first, Tomo was able to stop. But the addiction caught up, and she found herself selling her body to people on the side, to get more money for more drugs. Yomi never knew about this. Either way, Tomo had become a Coke-Addict. Yomi blamed herself for never stopping it.

As for Yomi, she wasn't doing so hot either. Everyday, she planned to talk to Nyamo about what Tomo was doing, but Tomo always managed to get inside of her head in the bad way. She never told anybody, a costly mistake as far as she was concerned. Over the course of time, she became depressed, between everything that Tomo was doing, and everything she should have been doing. She would never admit it, but she was addicted to the same drugs. At first, she found herself snorting the stuff very rarely, only when she was extremely depressed. Then, the usage started to become more frequent. When she didn't want to become like Tomo and when the few times that she'd cut herself weren't enough to take away the anguish, Yomi found herself visiting the same girl that Tomo did for various other drugs. She never was truly addicted, but over the course of six months, Yomi had experimented on Weed, LSD, Crack, and Mushrooms on multiple occasions in secret. In the end, nothing took away the depression. While she was able to quit all of these easily, she'd fucked her system up for life. Either way, she had her problems too, but was too proud to admit that she'd fucked up like Tomo had.

But their lives were not the only thing in trouble.

Slowly but surely, the Grades of both girls begin to fall. For Tomo, nobody was surprised. But for Yomi, everyone became more and more curious, but nobody, not even Nyamo at one point, could get her to talk. At the Four Month Mark, the two dropped out of school. Between the grades, the hassle every morning, and the increasing social abuse from the gang, it was just too much.

Ever since Tomo and Yomi had started down the Spiral, since those few months before school when they started coming out, the girls had never seen the light again. The promises from Mr. Takino and from Nyamo were only illusions of all that could have been. But slowly and surely, the girls had fallen down, down, down, until finally, though they were blind to it, the spiral was coming to and end. Soon, it would all be over.

The beginning of the end all started on that fateful Saturday.

March 22nd, Three months after the drop out, together for nine months.

It all started coming undone...


	11. The Broken

Well guys, I hope you liked how I used a cliff hanger to end the last chapter. The only reason I did what I did with the description of what happened over the months is because if I were writing day by day accounts, we'd be here for fifty or so chapters full of nothing but the same thing. Sometimes in a story, you gotta skip ahead with a brief account. I'm not getting lazy, I'm just keeping to the point of the story. The point of this story is not what happens to Tomo and Yomi at school. What is? Just gotta read the last few chapters to find that out.;-)

The Downward Spiral

Chapter Eleven: The Broken

Saturday, March 22nd, 12:12 PM, Takino residence.

"I look like shit..." Yomi was staring into the bathroom mirror, and if one were standing there with her, one would have a hard time disagreeing. All the drugs had caught up to her. She weighed One-Thirty on the Scale, her skin was tightening in some places and wrinkling in others. She had slash marks all over her left wrist, and needle marks on her right biceps and triceps, complimented by a few cigarette burns on her right forearm. She hardly ever wore her glasses anymore. "Ugh...my head." Yomi had just awoken, and already, she had a headache from the sex the night before. It was another change. Tomo had slowly gone from tender in the bed, to hard as a rock. It was brutal, but at this point, it was sad, but Yomi was powerless to stop Tomo from doing anything anymore.

There were even times when she would sit up at night, wandering if she really loved Tomo. When she was able to convince herself that she did, and unanswerable question always came next.

"How did it come to this?" Again, Yomi wandered aloud. She just let out a large, heavy sigh, before she began to slip her clothes on. A pair of flannel pajama bottoms that, months earlier, would have never fit her, and an Extra-Large Tee-shirt. It embarrassed Yomi, the girl who always watched her weight, to no end that she looked like this now. But she knew she couldn't stop it. The worst part is, it wasn't the fault of Tomo. No, Yomi had stopped blaming her girlfriend a long time ago. She knew now that she was to blame, and so was everything that she'd ever done without Tomo knowing.

"I fucked up pretty badly." Yomi ran some cold water in the sink, brushing her teeth and splashing herself in the face with the cold water, in an attempt to wake herself up better.

The smell of smoke and food was coming up from downstairs. Yomi sighed again, and exited the bathroom, walking down the stairs, where Tomo sat, with breakfast made.

"Morning..." Tomo let out a large hacking cough. "Yomi..." She say there, smoking a flavored cigar. Yomi had long ago stopped caring where Tomo got her tobacco and drugs. She merely nodded as she sat down beside her lover. It used to be a good morning kiss. Which slowly turned to a hug, then to a peck, then a nod. Yomi missed the good days. She looked upon the food that Tomo had sat out. Burnt toast, Rice balls with either too much or not enough rice stuck in, and various other half ass foods. No drinks either. They were out, and didn't have the money for more milk or orange juice. Yomi looked up at Tomo, trying to look pissed. For a moment, the latter didn't even notice, until she took a drag from her cigar and saw the staring. "What can I do ya for, sweets?"

"How many times have I told you not to smoke or snort while you're cooking BREAKFAST!" Yomi motioned at the Cigar, and at ths white powdery remains on the counter behind her. Tomo just shrugged, taking another drag.

"Oh, don't worry about it." Tomo was completely unfazed by her steady's outburst, and it irritated Yomi to no end.

"QUIT TELLING ME IT'LL ALL BE OKAY!" She yelled, which got Tomo to pay attention, but only for a moment. She just continued to smoke and look away. "Eat some of this shit you made and tell me if you think it's okay?"

"Fine, I will!" Tomo snapped back, grabbing a piece of toast and stuffing it into her mouth. At first, she chewed without problem, but the look on Tomo's face let Yomi know that she'd probably vomit that up. Still, pompous as she now was, Tomo swallowed it whole, gagged, and took another drag of her cigar, finally tossing the bud into a trash-can behind her. "See? A-Okay." The pissed look never left Yomi's face, and it was getting under Tomo's skin. "What? Why are you being so bitchy lately! You were never like this before!"

"You were never like this either!" Yomi had a point. If Yomi was ugly, then Tomo was hideous. Weighing in at One Sixty-Five, she was wrinkly skinned all over, yellow teeth, had nosebleeds on a regular basis, more headaches than two bottles of Tylenol could fix in a week, and a cracking voice, Tomo looked like she was about Thirty Years old, when she was only Sixteen. Tomo couldn't argue.

"You're no sex devil either!" Tomo retorted.

"You seem to think that's all I am!" Yomi shot back.

"Bullshit, I love you, Yomi!"

"I want to believe that!"

There was a long silence, and Tomo, even though drugs and lifestyle had changed her, tried to use her seductive, loving voice. She walked up to Yomi, coughing a few more times before she got there, and wrapped her arms around her neck.

"Then believe it, Yomi. I love you. You ARE my Perfect Drug." That did it.

At that moment, something inside of Koyomi Mizuhara snapped. Everything had finally caught up to her. A few tears welled up in her eyes. "What's-" Tomo was quickly cut off by Yomi, her voice cracking, and tears running down the side of her face.

"I can't take it anymore!" She pushed Tomo off, who barely caught herself before hitting her back on the table, and ran, yelling as she left. "If all I am to you is a drug...I Can't take it anymore Tomo! I'm sorry! It's all my fault!" Those were the last words heard before Yomi, her heart pounding from weakness, and her breath heavy, sprinted out the front door of the house, and out of Tomo's life.

Tomo only sighed at first, but then her tears began to roll too. Tomo's sub conscious began to go wild.

'_She's right, Tomo.' _Tomo thought to herself. _'You're all washed up. Drugs have taken you over. You've fucked up. You had it all.' _Each statement, a different voice. Tomo placed her hands over her temples forcefully, and began to weep.

"Stop! STOP! Get out of my head!" The voices continued.

'_You could have had it all. But now all you have is an empire of dirt.' _Tomo lost it, and began to speak aloud to her thoughts.

"But what can I do? I want to take it all back." She was still crying.

'_You can't get a second chance.'_

"But I want one!"

'_You can only do one thing now.'_

"What? What can I do? Tell me?"

'_Only you can figure that out.' _The voices turned into maniacal laughter, and Tomo fell to her knees. After what seemed like forever, she had an idea, and heard the voices one last time. _'Atta Girl, 'Atta girl. Don't worry. You'll see here there.'_ With the tears still rolling, Tomo nodded. She knew exactly what to do.

Standing up, she reached into her bag, which sat beside her chair at the kitchen table, and opened it up to check the contents. Ten Ziplock bags of Cocaine, which she'd acquired in exchange for being the target of a gang-bang with a family of men bigger than the Brady Bunch. Making sure she had all the materials she needed, She nodded and carried the bag upstairs to her room. After rummaging around in the closet where her dad kept his survival gear, she found exactly what she was looking for. Smiling, she rolled it out on the floor, took her Cocaine and materials out of her bag, and crawled in.

The last sound of the outside world that Tomo would ever hear would be the sound of herself zipping the sleeping bag shut.


	12. And All That Could Have Been

Not much longer. There will be three more chapters. Two chapters, and an Epilogue. Well, I'm not gonna say anything else. Just that I've been on a coffee induced writing spree, and that is why I may very well finish this story today. Let's get on with it.

The Downward Spiral

Chapter Twelve: And All That Could Have Been

Saturday, March 22nd, 4:29 PM.

Yomi had run all day, though in hours, she'd made no progress, having more or less run circles around Tokyo. She wanted to catch a train to Osaka, and from there, she didn't know where. She just wanted to be away. Far, far away. Tired and hungry, she walked through a park, getting what scraps she could out of trash-cans, just to have a bite to eat. This was pathetic. She was pathetic.

"I am pathetic." She admitted aloud as she took a bite from a half eaten, but still good looking apple. Carrying it with her, she walked over to a bench and sat down. There was a beautiful view of the lake right here, and the sun was behind some tall trees. Perfect shade. Perfect setting.

But Yomi wasn't feeling perfect. Sighing to herself as the events of the past seven months caught up with her, she threw the apple into the pond in a rage, then rested her head in her hands and her hands on her knees. Nobody was around, and the few people that did walk by either payed no never mind or merely chuckled. Yomi began to monologue out loud to herself.

"It's all my fault..." She started. She'd gone from placing all the blame on Tomo, to evenly distributing the blame, to allowing it to all fall upon her shoulders. "I didn't stop her from snorting the coke the first time, didn't stop her from getting any more of it." Tears once again began to roll down the side of Yomi's face. "I didn't stop her from spending our money, didn't figure out what she was doing, I wasn't there for her, I didn't stop myself..." She began to relentlessly beat her head with her hands. "Why? Why? WHY? WHY?" She was bawling aloud now, and nobody dared go near her, what few people went by. This was a deserted part of town, which probably explained the presence of a park in the first place.

She stood up and walked over to the small pond, looking at her reflection through the ripples that her tears created when they impacted upon the water.

"What have I become?" She started again, now crying silently. Then, the voices that had plagued Tomo began to surface within Yomi's mind. She, however, was not afraid of them, and welcomed them if anything. They began to talk to her.

'_It is all your fault, Yomi.'_

"I know it is." Yomi spoke audibly to them, not caring who heard her or what they thought. None of that mattered to her anymore.

'_You could have had it all, but now you wear a crown of thorns upon your throne. How's it feel to be the Queen of your World now?'_

"I hate it." The tears still rolled. "I absolutely hate it."

'_All because you didn't know how to handle a relationship. All because you didn't know how to be a rebel, a radical. All because you couldn't handle yourself under pressure. All this time, you were screaming for somebody to let you out, but in the end, when the opportunity arose, you ignored it, being headstrong, thinking you'd be able to fix it all.'_

"And I now see that I was wrong in thinking that." She smiled weakly. Finally, after almost a year, she'd come to terms with herself.

'_It is not what you and Tomo were. It was that you and Tomo made all the wrong decisions. And you could have prevented it all.' _Yomi nodded, to nobody in particular.

"It pains me, when I think of all that could have been. We could have married, adopted kids, raised them."

'_Yes.'_

"We could have gone to school, graduated, gone to a University. Made something out of ourselves."

'_Yes.'_

"Had a life. Lived together. We could have seen our kids, our grand kids, grow up. Then, we could have died together."

'_Yes, All of that could have been.'_

"But it's not."

'_Not quite.'_

"What?"

'_You can still make things right.'_

"You mean...?"

'_It's the only way, Yomi. Do what's right. Don't let Tomo down.' _They were gone. Swiftly as they came, the voices were gone. Yomi fell to her knees and bawled again, halfway out of compassion, halfway out of happiness. It was so obvious, and it had taken her up until now to realize what she had to do.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Koyomi Mizuhara stood up, and walked away, back to the trash-can. She began to rummage through it, looking for what she needed.

Saturday, March 22nd, 7:01 PM

"...A-Ha! Finally!" Yomi had been digging through trash-cans for hours. She had found bits and pieces of what she was looking for, but never could she find one of the just the right size and strength. She could have gone back to the house, sure, and found one. Mr. Takino had plenty of survival equipment. But Yomi knew she could never go back there. Besides, she found what she was looking for, and it was conveniently placed, too. In an alleyway, with a three story fire-escape right beside of her.

Yomi gazed upon the item that would give her freedom. A three foot long, non-fraying, rock climbing rope. Yomi hugged the rope close to her chest.

"Thank you, girl scouts."

Yomi fixated the rope, just as would be needed, and began to climb the fire escape, quietly as she could. Surprisingly, she made no noise, or at least not enough to disturb anyone. Silently, she wiped away her tears one more time, as she tied the rope to the edge of the fire escape, and whispered one last phrase.

"See ya, Tomo."

Vash Sackachi, Thirty-Eight, of Downtown Tokyo, Unagi Apartments, room 3A, awoke to the sound of his kitten meowing profusely at the window which led to his fire escape. Rubbing his eyes as he got up, Mr. Sackachi walked over to his kitten, and began to stroke her.

"What's wrong, Meowmeow?" He asked the animal, rubbing it affectionately. Then he looked up, arching an eyebrow. Opening the door and stepping out, he saw the end of a rope tied to the railing of the fire escape. "What the-" Then Mr. Sackachi looked over the railing. "Oh my God!" Quickly, he ran back inside in a panic, calling the local police.


	13. All Apologies

Well, after reading some reviews, and taking some time to slow down, I want to make two statements, both of which I will go into more depth about after I finish the Fic. One, this Fanfiction has gone completely as planned from beginning to end. Everything I've done was my original idea, and the reviews and outside opinions did not change that. Everything that has happened was planned. Two, the reason it seemed like it all happened so fast? It was supposed to. Sometimes, a quick recap fits a story better than a full, hands on account. I felt that was the case here. Anyway, we got two chapters to go. Let's get down to it.

The Downward Spiral

Chapter Thirteen: All Apologies

Monday, March 24th, 9:07 AM. Tokyo.

For the third year Students, the Seniors, this was it. On Friday, they would be graduating. Some would move onto College, and for the rest, their School years were almost over.

What then, would the last week of school be? Not much. For those who didn't skip for the last week, School was more or less something to do if you didn't have anything better to do at home. Most of the time was spent sitting in home room all day, doing whatever. Some would play cards, or various other games brought in. Others would chat. Some would even watch Television, if one was present in the room.

To the surprise of the students in Ms. Yukari's home-room, the latter was the case. Yukari, defying all odds, had actually put some effort in to bringing a Television Set into her class-room for the day.

"Why? Becuase I don't want you all using your free time to bother me." Which was what Yukari had said, right before she lay her head down on a pillow she had brought with her, and falling into a deep snooze. That was Ms. Yukari for you.

For the most part, the TV went unused. Most of the students just sat around talking and playing some of the aforementioned games. Then, about halfway through the class, Chiyo and Sakaki got bored of playing Jin Rummy, and decided to set down and watch the TV.

"What do you want to watch, Chiyo?" Sakaki asked. She didn't really care all that much.

"It doesn't matter to me." Chiyo really didn't either. After some silence, Chiyo had an idea. "How about the news?" Sakaki nodded.

"Yeah, I doubt there's anything else on right now anyway." She responded. Chiyo nodded and pressed the Power button on the TV, then surfed to channel seven, the local news.

It took either of them a moment to take in what they were seeing, but once it hit them...

"Oh...Oh..." Sakaki stammered. Chiyo would finish it with a yell.

"OH MY GOD!" She screamed, clinging to Sakaki and burying her face the latter's leg. Between Chiyo's high pitched voice, and the volume of the yell, even Yukari was awoken in a panic.

Everyone gathered around the Television, and not a soul in that room was happy at what they saw.

News Channel Seven, Live Report. 9:42 AM, Monday, March 24th, Tokyo

A woman in her twenties, with long black hair, and a red business suit, held a microphone and was reporting on something. Behind her, was a run down apartment building in down town Tokyo. An ambulance, a body bag, and some workers could also be seen.

"The body of a young girl was found today, hanging from a noose, off of a third floor apartment fire escape this morning."

A picture of Yomi came up on the screen, her eyes closed, and the indintation of a rope was marked into her limp neck.

"Koyomi Mizuhara, age Sixteen, of Tokyo, was found hanging from a noose. From the finger prints on the rope, and the way she was found, this has been dubbed a suicide. And now, we take it over to Shingiwa Minamoto, in uptown Tokyo, for a related story.

The camera flashed now to a short, middle aged man with no hair, who was standing outside of a house that some of the girls found very familiar. The house of Tomo Takino.

"Another young girl was found dead today, inside her Tokyo home."

The camera now flashed on a picture of Tomo, being zipped up into a body bag.

"Tomo Takino, sixteen, of Tokyo, was found dead today, when the neighbors complained about the smell of drugs coming from the upstairs window. When the authorities came, Ms. Takino was found dead in the upstairs bedroom of her two story house. She was found in a sleeping bag, and an autopsy showed two pounds of Cocaine in her system, all ingested at the time of death. Tomika, back to you."

The camera cut to a female news anchor in a studio. Long blonde hair, mid thirties.

"Thank you Shin. After talking to some of the locals, the two were identified as Lesbian lovers, who had reciently dropped out of high school. While the father of Ms. Takino is currently away in America on active duty, the mother of Ms. Mizuhara refused to comment. In other news, the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch was found toady..."

The rest didn't matter to anyone in that room. While blind sympathy was what came from most of the students, five girls in that room new otherwise. Kagura, Sakaki, Chiyo, and Osaka took Yukari outside, and the five of them had a talk.

"It's all our fault." Chiyo said. Nobody else had the courage to speak up. She was right. "It's our fault guys." Chiyo said again. "And we-" She was cut off by Kagura, who if anything, was the most to blame for this.

"And we have to make it right." She said.

"But how're we gonna do that?" Osaka stated, on the verge of tears. There was silence for a moment, until Sakaki spoke up, a depressing look in her eyes.

"The last thing we can do." After a moment of thinking, everyone nodded in agreement.

The End


	14. Epilogue: Eulogy of Tomo and Yomi

Well guys, it's been a great ride to this point. All I can say is, to date, this has been my favorite piece of work. Thanks for sticking with me, and now, I give you the finale.

The Downward Spiral

Epilogue: Eulogy of Tomo and Yomi

Sunday, March 31st, 5:00PM, Tokyo.

The soft, depressing melody of the pipe organ drifted through the air that afternoon, its message looming on the minds of those who could hear it.

Only seven people were around it hear the sounds, though they did not want to be there, each and every one of them knew, that this had been partially their fault.

As they looked upon the double-coffin, which held the dead bodies of Tomo Takino and Yomi Mizuhara, Ms. Sakaki, Kaorin, Kagura, Chiyo-chan, Ayumu, Yukari, Minamo, and Mr. Mizuhara, all felt the weight of the world on their shoulders.

All were clad in black, the six girls all wearing veils of some kind, Mr. Mizuhara with a black top hat. For you see, while no funeral is a pleasant thing, this was a greater among many evils, so to speak.

The organ finally died down, and, after a moment of silence, Chiyo stepped up to the front, standing at the head of the coffin. At her side, she held an unsealed envelope. Holding back tears, as she looked upon the bodies of her friends, she looked up, addressing the other six.

"Friends," she began, not a hint of joy in her voice. "I am sure you all are away of why we are here today." There was a small moment of silence. "I does not need to be said, but will be anyway, as a reminder, that the deaths of these two young women, rest entirely on our shoulders. Each and every one of us could have done something to prevent this, or to at least make the lives of Tomo and Yomi a little easier." Another silence, as everyone knew what Chyio would say next. In their minds, everyone said it with her. "But we didn't. I ask that we have a moment of silence, before I continue."

Everyone bowed their heads, some closing their eyes, others not being able to take their eyes off of the coffin. This was something that, in the end, none of them had wanted to deal with, and it was ripping each of them up inside to no end.

"Thank you." Chiyo ended the silence that she started, nodding at Sakaki, who made her way up to the head of the coffin. Chiyo handed her the letter that she held in her hand. "Ms. Sakaki has agreed to read this. A Letter that is to be buried with Tomo and Yomi, that each of us helped pitch in to write." Chiyo nodded at Sakaki one more time, and stepped down. After both girls had taken their respective places, Sakaki opened the envelope, pulling out the paper inside, unfolding it, and reading it.

"To our Dearest Tomo and Yomi," The letter began. "We're sorry. We know all the apologies in the world won't bring you back, but either way, we are still sorry. From Chiyo; I'm sorry I never understood. Please, forgive me. From Sakaki; I'm sorry I didn't do my best to comprehend it. Please, forgive me." At this point, everyone, tears now running down their eyes, began to recite their own parts as Sakaki did, remembering exactly what they had written."

"From Kagura;" Kagura said, her voice breaking. "I'm sorry for the way I was, the things I said that I Shouldn't have. I shouldn't have taken my past out on you two. Please, forgive me."

"From Ayumu;" Osaka recited, using her real name out of pure respect. "I'm sorry I couldn'tve looked upon y'all in a different light, or at least have kept the same light on ya. Please, forgive me."

"From Kaorin; I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you, Yomi. It would have been the least I could have done. I'm sorry, girls. Please forgive me."

"From Yukari; I should have tolerated you, and not given you hell in my home-room like I always did. I'm sorry. Please, forgive me."

"From Minamo;" Also using her real name out of respect. "I came forward and told you you could come to me. But when I suspected drugs and did nothing about it, I blame myself. I'm sorry. Please, forgive me."

"From Mr. Mizuhara; I'm sorry, honey. I shouldn'tve let your mother talk me into looking at you like that. You were my daughter, and Tomo like a second to me. I should have better played the roll of the father. I'm sorry. Please, forgive me."

Every one of them had asked for forgiveness on their own. None of the quotes from any of them had been written together, which made it that much more emotional. Everyone else was crying quietly, and Sakaki was holding back tears, trying not to get the letter wet.

"We know that none of these can bring you back, and we know that you have every right to hate us. This is just so you know, we now understand the errors of our ways. The decisions that the six of us have made over the past year will affect us for life, and we've lost two of the most important people to us, all because we weren't able to look past a simple feeling. We pray that the afterlife treats you better than this one was able to."

"Amen." Everyone said it. All at once, through the tears. Sakaki could no longer hold back, and she burst out. Trembling and crying, she folded the letter, placing it back in the envelope, sealing it with her tears, and placing it between the two in the coffin. After one final look, the coffin was closed. That was it. In this lifetime, Tomo and Yomi would never be seen again.

As the crane was slowly lowered the coffin into the ground, Sakaki stepped aside, revealing the Tombstone that would forever commemorate the girls. It read as follows.

'Here lie Tomo Takino and Koyomi Mizuhara, two young lovers, who could have had it all, had it not been for everyone in their life, who let them down, all because they could not look past a mere feeling. We're sorry, girls. Rest in Piece.'

The birthdays and death dates of the two girls were etched into the Tombstone, and many flowers already sat beside the grave. Finally, the crane pulled out, and the bulldozer did the last job, pushing the dirt over the hole in the ground, and flattening it.

Nobody left for a long time, most just stood around, crying, and supporting one another. One by one, eventually, they would walk away. It was Eight O'clock that night, before Chiyo, the last person there, finally left.

Each of the girls left would go on to have successful lives. All going to college, all making something out of themselves. Mr. Mizuhara divorced his wife, and even he went back to College. All the girls, now, ten years later, are doing great.

But for each one of them. Not a day goes by, when they don't consider, what life could have been like, if only, their High School years, had gone a little differently.

And still, even now, the girls get together at the grave of Tomo and Yomi, every Sunday at Five O'clock, for a time of silence, and remembrance, for two of their best friends, who weren't around, because of them.

Rest in Piece, Tomo and Yomi. Rest in Piece.


	15. Authors Notes

Words from the Author: A Couple of Closing Notes from PAEC

Hey guys, PAEC here. Wow, it's been a great ride over the past four months and two days. I'm glad that y'all have stuck with me long enough to be reading this. Really makes me feel great as a Fanfiction Author.

This is my first completed facfiction that I have written, by myself, that has been longer than one chapter. I started it Four Months and Two Days ago, which was about a year after I completed the Prequel, Tales of Love at Magical Land. Ever since I wrote ToLaML, I had been telling myself, 'I need a sequel.' Now, I have one.

Firstly, I want to say that everything that happened in 'The Downward Spiral' was planned to happen since day one. I spent a year figuring this Fanfiction out, and I wasn't about to make the changes based on a few reviews. This was my idea, and I stuck with it to the very end. I do understand why y'all think I may have changed it, where it sped up towards the end, but the reason I did that is simple.

Basically, Tomo and Yomi's slow evolution into the crack whores that they had become took so long, that writing out a day by day, or even a week by week account, of the seven months, would have been unnecessary. For you see, the plot crucial moments were scattered here and there. Nothing happened all at once. I felt a recap, if you will, was more appropriate to what I was trying to do.

I do want to apologize for forgetting to use spell check on a few chapters, and one or two crucial grammar errors here and there. I DO need to learn to proofread my own work, or have somebody else do it. But, that's another story, for another fic.

Basically, compared to my other fanfictions, the numbers for this one sky-rocketed. It was you guys that really kept me going. Seeing the countless reviews, the favorites, and the number of people that kept my story on alert, so they could know as soon as I updated it, that was great. Knowing that so many people enjoyed reading my work was what kept me going. Thanks guys, I really appreciate it.

Thank you, the READERS of for making The Downward Spiral a success. Without you all, I don't think I could have done it. I'm glad you all enjoyed reading it, and I hope I can see some of y'all around for my future writings.

For those of you X-Box360 owners out there, my next planned FanFiction will take place in the World of Cyrodil! That's right, I'm talking about an Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion FanFiction. Stay tuned for that.

Just wanna say thank you, one more time. Keep on reading, FFN, Keep on reading!

PAEC


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